Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt took aim at Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, a day after Ward made a strangely dismissive remark about Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis’ no-hit attempt.
Francis didn’t get a hit until the ninth inning on Saturday, but lost the game on a Ward home run in the ninth inning. Although Francis couldn’t complete the no-hitter, his performance remained outstanding, as he recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed just one hit in eight innings.
Despite this, Ward was strangely dismissive of Francis’ performance. After the game, Ward said he didn’t know why Francis was so hard to hit, as he felt “everything was beatable” and he “didn’t think it was anything special.”
Taylor Ward on the reasons why Francis remained so tough:
“I really don’t know. You know, I thought it was all hittable. Maybe he made better shots for other guys. A lot of guys talked about his split and how that was OK. But personally, I didn’t think it was anything special.”
— Julia Kreuz (@juliackreuz) 24 August 2024
Those comments obviously found their way back into the Toronto locker room. Francis was a guest in the dugout during Sunday’s broadcast of the game on SportsNet, but Bassitt stole the show by coming up behind Francis to hit back at Ward.
Chris Bassitt has entered the chat 😂 pic.twitter.com/bUlZ6YwznI
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) 25 August 2024
Bassitt’s sign lists Francis’ combined stats from two games against the Angels this season – 15 innings, two hits and 20 strikeouts – along with the sarcastic comment “hitable & nothing special,” a mocking reference to Ward’s statement.
Ward’s comments are even more ridiculous considering that just two weeks ago, Francis limited the Angels to one hit in seven innings. They had two chances to hurt Francis and could barely touch him.
The Angels are in last place in the AL West at 54-76 entering Sunday’s game. Quotes like Ward’s won’t really resonate as long as they’re playing like this.
