Bowden Francis will take the mound when the Toronto Blue Jays meet the Philadelphia Phillies in their series finale on Wednesday. The right-hander comes in hot off of his latest honor as American League Pitcher of the Month for August. And to this point, it’s been a historically good beginning.
Francis was unstoppable on the mound during August, starting five games and going 4-0 with an excellent 1.05 ERA. He had an outstanding set of numbers: a 0.40 WHIP, 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, and allowed opponents to hit just .089 off him. Performances like that are rare; what he did was incredible.
Francis Overcoming Challenges
As contributed by Justin Havens of Underdog Fantasy, Francis is the first right-handed pitcher in MLB history to allow nine or fewer hits while recording at least 39 strikeouts over a five-start stretch within a single season. That indicates how good Francis has been in his recent performances.
Francis hasn’t been having quite a smooth season. He started the year in the rotation, but after an early struggle, found himself in the bullpen. After posting 12 earned runs in his first two starts, he had a 3.86 ERA in his following 14 appearances. He also missed all of May because of right forearm extensor tendinitis and was optioned to the minors in July.
Toronto gave Francis a shot again at the end of July, and he has made the most of it. Francis tossed a quality start in a doubleheader on July 29 where he had enough support to keep him in rotation. Ever since that opportunity opened up for Francis, he has shown that he can play at high levels.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Starting Pitcher
The Philadelphia Phillies will send Christopher Sanchez to the mound. An All-Star in July, Sanchez has gone cold over his last few outings. He’s 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA over his last five starts, but he remains an important piece for Philadelphia.
Francis has been hot lately, and how he pitches against the highly stacked Phillies lineup will be something the fans should pay close attention to. This could be his ticket to stardom in this game, to cement his status as one of the premier pitchers in the league.
Francis’ performance is not only crucial in this game but also in this whole season of the Blue Jays. It could be that his strong starts will make a huge difference in their playoff push. If he can maintain this fine form, the Blue Jays may just become a formidable opponent this postseason.
It will indeed be a test in form and character as Bowden Francis takes his historic hot streak to the mound for the Blue Jays in their series finale against the Phillies. With the recent performances and those yet to come, fans and analysts alike are eager to find out whether Francis can keep his fine form going to help lead the Blue Jays to victory.
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