Angels narrowly avoid a no-hitter in loss to Blue Jays – Orange County Register

TORONTO – For all the misery the Angels have endured over the past decade, they have at least escaped the ignominy of not having a hit.

They went all out on Saturday and couldn’t get their first hit until Taylor Ward opened the ninth with a home run against right-hander Bowden Francis.

The home run was little consolation for the Angels in their 3-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels lost for the 10th time in their last 12 games and are now a season low 22 games under .500.

The last time the Angels didn’t get a hit was on September 11, 1999, when Eric Milton of the Minnesota Twins got one. It is the longest active streak in the major leagues.

Ward said he had never thrown a no-hitter against a team when he was on the roster, so it was “a huge relief” to get a hit. He also said he didn’t think Francis was doing anything out of the ordinary.

“I thought everything was beatable,” Ward said. “Maybe he made better shots for other guys. Other guys talked about his split and how it was OK, but I didn’t think it was anything special.”

Logan O’Hoppe, who hit a line drive to center field and struck out twice, said Francis deserves credit for what he did.

“He was on a roll all day,” O’Hoppe said. “From the first pitch, he seemed to get going. I didn’t feel rushed in the box, but you just felt like he was comfortable and settled in. He made some really good throws. The split was really good.”

The Angels faced Francis in Anaheim earlier this month, and again they had just one hit in that game – a home run by Mickey Moniak in the third inning. Francis pitched seven innings that day.

This time, Francis managed three walks – two of them in the second inning – and hit one batter. Before Ward’s home run, the Angels didn’t even come close to getting a hit.

The best the Angels could do was see enough pitches to boost Francis’ pitching numbers.

Francis had 95 pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning with fielding action in the Blue Jays bullpen. He returned for the eighth inning and threw a perfect inning, striking out 16 more pitches.

To the delight of the crowd at the Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays sent him back to the mound in the ninth inning with 111 pitches. Ward hit his 117th pitch just over the fence in left center field.

If the Angels had been a little offensive, they would have had a chance, as Angels starter Carson Fulmer kept them in the game. Fulmer allowed two runs in six innings.

Fulmer made a fielding error that allowed the Blue Jays both of their first-inning runs. Varsho hit a roller down the first-base line. Although the ball appeared to be rolling out of bounds, Fulmer picked it up and hastily threw it to first base. The throw missed and the ball dropped into foul territory, far enough away from any Angels defender to give Varsho time to get to third base.

“I probably should have just taken it and forced him to stay on first base,” Fulmer said, “but I’m ambitious and always want to make a difference.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then hit a double down the left field line to bring Varsho home. One out later, Joey Loperfido hit a double to right to bring Guerrero home.

After that, Fulmer didn’t allow any more runs. In the third inning, center fielder Kevin Pillar and second baseman Brandon Drury managed to catch a runner at the plate with a few strong throws.