TORONTO (AP) — After Taylor Ward criticized Toronto right-hander Bowden Francis’ recent strong start, fellow Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt assured him he had his teammate’s back.
Francis had a career-high 12 strikeouts in Toronto’s 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. He was working a no-hitter before Ward hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning.
Francis, 28, was named AL Player of the Week last week after going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts, the first of which saw him pitch seven innings in a road win over the Angels on Aug. 12, allowing one run and one hit and striking out eight players.
Ward missed on Saturday, getting hit by a pitch and flying out before hitting his 17th home run.
“I thought everything was beatable,” Ward said of Francis after the loss. “Maybe he made better shots for other guys. A lot of guys talked about his split and how good it was. But personally, I didn’t think it was anything special.”
While Francis was being interviewed from the team’s dugout during the televised broadcast of Sunday’s game, Bassitt stood over his teammate’s shoulder holding a handwritten sign that read, “15 innings, 2 hits, 20 Ks. Hittable + Nothing special.”
Toronto had won all six of its meetings with the Angels before Sunday’s season series finale. The Blue Jays have won 10 of their last 12 games against the Angels since last season.
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