By: Brian Frank
Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis is currently on a historic run. Since being recalled from the Bisons on July 29, he’s posted a 1.83 ERA in nine games (eight starts). In his last six starts, he’s only allowed 13 hits in 43 innings pitched – the fewest hits allowed by a starting pitcher in baseball history over a six-game span. According to Sportsnet, Francis now holds the Blue Jays record in a six-game span with a minimum of 30 innings pitched for lowest WHIP (0.40), opponent batting average (.092), and ERA (1.26). In fact, his 0.40 WHIP is the lowest in MLB history over six consecutive starts.
“I think when I got sent back down, I was able to get back into a starting role and get in my routine,” Francis said in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “Just having the comfortability of knowing that I had another shot put me in a good spot mentally. I’m just trying to take the opportunity and roll with it. I'm just trying to do more studying on the hitters and kind of learn how to use my stuff better and how to adapt.”
Francis, who won the American League’s Pitcher of the Month award in August, feels like he’s been in what many athletes call “the zone.”
“I call it like a flow state, where you just kind of flow each pitch,” he said. “You're just thinking in the present moment.”
Francis has a 0.40 WHIP in his last six starts. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles
In four of his last six starts, the 6’5” right-hander has only allowed one hit. In two of those starts, on August 24 against the Los Angeles Angels and his most recent outing on September 11 against the Mets, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Both no-hit bids were broken up by home runs to lead off the final frame – by Taylor Ward for the Angels and Francisco Lindor for the Mets.
Francis said he was aware he hadn’t allowed a hit from pretty early on in both outings.
“Around the fifth or sixth, I started to feel it a little more,” he said. “I noticed in the dugout that the presence is a little different. I try not to overthink it. Then I felt the crowd in the eighth inning – but after the seventh it was pretty obvious.”
He didn’t find it strange that his teammates wouldn’t talk to him in the dugout, but did notice some other peculiarities.
“Most of my outings they don't really talk to me anyway,” he said. “But I would kind of look around and some guys would kind of look at me out of the corner of their eye. Checking on me, I guess, to see how I was doing. That was just kind of funny.”
He noted that he didn’t change his game plan or mindset in either start because he hadn’t allowed a hit.
“I try to keep it all the same,” he explained. “I just kept trying to tell myself what I was telling myself at the beginning of the game. Just keep attacking. Keep trusting the plan. I know as the game went on, sometimes your body fatigues, but I just kept saying – you know you're prepared for this, just keep trusting your mechanics.”
Francis threw 117 pitches against the Angels and 111 against the Mets, besting his previous season high (95) by a good margin. However, he said fatigue was not an issue in either outing.
“I actually felt like I was in a good spot,” he said. “It wasn't like I was super out of whack. I was still pounding the zone. I put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and I think my body's at a good spot where I can handle it. Now that I have those under my belt, I feel like I can continue to show them I could go deeper into games.”
After Francisco Lindor, a four-time All-Star who’s having an MVP caliber season, broke up Francis’s no-hit bid against the Mets, he sent Francis a gift – a signed bat.
“That was pretty cool,” Francis said. “He signed it and wrote a little message on it. He’s a super classy guy.”
The American League Pitcher of the Month for August. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles
Francis believes that although he feels like he’s been in a groove on the mound before, nothing compares to his current stretch.
“This one stands out,” he said. “You know, it's in the big leagues. I haven't really had a stretch like this. Before I was traded in 2021, I feel like at Triple-A I had a pretty good stretch, but it's just different in the big leagues, you know? You’re facing the best in the world, so it’s just different.”
The laid back Tallahasse, Florida native regularly practices mindfulness through techniques like meditation, breathing exercises, and burning palo santo. He hasn’t let his recent success affect his outlook.
“I feel like my dad, from when I was young, has always embedded in me to stay grounded and to stay hungry at the same time,” Francis said. “As you grow older, you learn about the game, and you know that the game will humble you as soon as you think you’re too hot for it. It's a game that you can't get too low on either, because this game will beat you up. It's just a game, and we just have to be grateful for each day.”
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