Toronto Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis loses no-hit bid in 9th inning

TORONTO –

Bowden Francis lost his bid for the second no-hitter in Blue Jays history when Taylor Ward hit a leadoff homer for the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth inning on Saturday.

Francis walked three and hit a batter while striking out a career-high 12. He threw a career-high 117 pitches, 84 for strikes.

The crowd of 34,011 saluted Francis with a standing ovation when he was replaced by right-hander Chad Green following Ward’s 17th homer.

The 28-year-old Francis was named American League Player of the Week last week after going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts. In the first of those, he pitched seven innings in a road win over the Angels on Aug. 12.

The Blue Jays held on for a 3-1 victory over the Angels.