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A history of Toronto Blue Jays no-hit bids
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Aug 27, 2024, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 26, 2024, 21:30 EDT
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On Saturday, Bowden Francis was three outs away from the second no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history.
The same day, I was celebrating my 26th birthday a day early, what a gift that would’ve been. Toronto’s first, last, and only no-hitter was thrown by Dave Stieb on September 2, 1990, nearly eight years before I was born. 
The team at Secret Base on Youtube, more specifically Jon Bois, has had a huge impact on my writing career, and they did a fantastic four-part series on how close Stieb came to throwing no-hitter on several occasions.
Well, Francis’ bid at what would’ve been the second Blue Jays no-hitter had me thinking about times that a starting pitcher for the team has come close to getting one in recent times. Let’s look at some of those occasions.

Roy Hallady’s no-hit bid

Just over a month after I was born, future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay made his second career start on the final day of the 1998 season.
Selected in the first-round of the 1995 draft, the then 21-year-old quickly became one of Toronto’s best prospects, and eventually one of the best players to ever wear a Blue Jays uniform. But in only his second start in the big leagues, Halladay was one out away from a no-hitter.
The only base runner allowed by Halladay in the game prior to the ninth inning was a fielding error committed in the top of the fifth inning. However, a Bobby Higginson home run on the first pitch of the at bat ended the attempt for the improbable no-hitter.
Of course, Halladay went on to have a Hall of Fame career. On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched the 20th-career perfect game in MLB history and even pitched the second no-hitter in postseason history.
Tragically, Halladay passed away on November 7, 2017. Gone, but never forgotten.

Dustin McGowen’s no-hit bid

Admittedly, I don’t remember this game from the summer of 2007, not only because I didn’t really watch baseball, but because I was also only nine years old.
Facing the Colorado Rockies on June 24, 2007, McGowan pitched a complete-game shutout, throwing 109 pitches, 73 of which were for strikes. The Rockies were the eventual National League pennant winners, a team that featured Hall of Famer Todd Helton, as well as Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki, mustered just one base runner through the first eight innings.
However, McGowen’s no-hit bid was broken up by the lead-off hitter in the ninth inning, Jeff Baker. Still, it was a terrific game from McGowen, who ended his career in 2017 after three stints with the Jays.

Brandon Morrow’s no-hit bid

In his first season with the Jays after a late 2009 trade, Brandon Morrow had an okay season. However, he was excellent on August 8, 2010, nearly pitching a no-hitter. If you ask me the first game I remember watching for the Blue Jays, it’s this one.
There were only two base runners for the Tampa Bay Rays in this game heading into the ninth inning, as Morrow walked a batter early in the game and a Ray reached via a fielding error. A fly-out got him to within two outs of the no-hitter, and after a walk and a line out, he was one out away from completing the second no-hitter in Jays history.
However, Evan Longoria reached on what was deemed a base hit after the ball deflected out of second baseman Aaron Hills’ glove. The scorer made the right call, even if Hill came up with the play, Longoria would have reached. But sometimes, you wish a scorer would be biased.
The final batter Morrow faced struck out on eight pitches, which happened to be Morrow’s 17th strikeout of the game, holy moly. Not only was Morrow one out away from a no-hitter, but 17 strikeouts in one nine-inning game is even rarer than a no-hitter.

Marco Estrada’s perfect game bid

I started regularly watching baseball in 2014, and the season after, Marco Estrada nearly did the improbable as he had a perfect game in the eighth inning.
In MLB history, there had only been 23 perfect games until this point, with the most recent one coming in mid-August of 2012 by Félix Hernández. Of course, it should be 24, as umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly called a runner safe during Armando Galarraga’s perfect game bid in 2010, but sadly there was no video replay.
Anyway, the Jays faced the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24, 2015, a weekday afternoon game where I slept in late. Waking up in the middle portion of the game, Estrada was in the midst of a perfect game bid heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.
The first batter, David DeJesus, popped up in foul territory, with Josh Donaldson jumping into the stands to make the terrific catch. However, the perfect game and no-hitter bid was broken up by Logan Forsythe, the very next batter.
It’s unlikely that Estrada would have been able to throw the complete game anyway, as he threw a total of 129 pitches in 8.2 innings pitched. Moreover, it was a 0-0 game when the bid was broken up before the Jays eventually won in the 12th inning by a score of 1-0.
Estrada’s time with the Jays ended after the 2018 season, but it wasn’t a stretch to call him the team’s ace during their two playoff runs in 2015 and 2016.

Aaron Sanchez’s no-hit bid

The Blue Jays missed out on a playoff spot in 2017, and it was pretty clear their contending days were over. However, the Jays got off to a good start in 2018 thanks to a weak schedule, and an early April game saw another no-hit bid from a Jays starter.
It wasn’t an efficient inning for Aaron Sanchez on April 10, 2018, but he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, on top of four walks and a hit-by pitch. As it so often is, the lead-off hitter managed to get a hit thanks to a double and was later cashed in to tie the game at one.
Sanchez managed to get out of the eighth inning by generating a double play, finishing with a line of 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K with a hit-by-pitch mixed in. It’s not really memorable because of how it finished, but Sanchez was only six outs away from getting the no-hit bid.
Like Halladay, Sanchez eventually threw a no-hitter, well, sort of. Traded to the Houston Astros before the 2019 deadline along with Joe Biagini, Sanchez threw six innings of hitless ball with six strikeouts and two walks. Biagini pitched the eighth inning, and the Astros completed the combined no-hitter.
Both Biagini and Sanchez had a second stint with the Jays’ Buffalo Bisons, but never pitched for the big league team again.

Ross Stripling’s perfect game bid

The Blue Jays acquired Ross Stripling at the 2020 trade deadline, and it paid dividends for the team during their 2022 season. He had shown flashes of great pitching before, especially during a stretch in 2021 before an injury, but Stripling was a big reason why the 2022 Blue Jays made the postseason.
Overall, he finished with a 3.01 ERA and a 3.11 FIP in 134.1 innings pitched, along with a 20.7 K% and a 3.7 BB%. There was one issue with Stripling though, as he seldomly faced the batting order a third time during that season.
Well, John Schneider’s hands were forced on August 17, 2022, as Stripling carried a perfect game into the seventh inning. After retiring the first 18 batters, Cedric Mullins broke up the perfect game and no-hit bid with a single.
Stripling was paid handsomely by the San Francisco Giants that off-season, but has spent parts of the last two seasons injured with an ERA around the 5.40 mark. Moreover, he was traded by the Giants to their geographical rivals, the Oakland Athletics. Still, Stripling’s 2022 performance helped save the Jays season after Hyun Jin Ryu required Tommy John surgery.

Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid

And then we come to August 24, 2024. The Blue Jays acquired Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis in a mid-season trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Rowdy Tellez. Richards immediately helped the Jays bullpen, while Francis had his struggles, more specifically in 2022.
With the Buffalo Bisons in 2022, Francis’ ERA sat at 6.59 while his FIP sat at 6.02. For any pitcher in the Blue Jays organization with 50+ innings pitched, and a sample size of 40 pitchers, both markers were the worst.
However, Francis figured it out midway through the season and dominated Triple-A to begin the 2023 season, earning a call-up to the big leagues where he posted a 1.73 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched as a long-relief option.
Francis’ 2024 started off rough, as he gave up 14 earned runs in his first 10.2 innings pitched as a starter, facilitating a move to the bullpen. Since then, Francis has posted a 2.66 ERA and a 4.02 FIP in 61 innings pitched, missing time due to injury in late April and all of May. Since returning to the rotation a day before the trade deadline, Francis has a 1.91 ERA and a 3.50 FIP in 33 innings pitched, along with a 30.5 K% and a 4.2 BB%.
His latest start is easily the best of his career, as he pitched a no-hitter into the top of the ninth, surrendering a solo home run on his 117th pitch of the game. Overall, he finished with a line of 8 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 K and a hit by pitch. Not only did he have that no-hitter, but he was dominant with 12 strikeouts.
Francis went from a throw-in prospect in 2021, to posting the worst ERA and FIP for any pitcher with significant innings in 2022, to potentially a key pitcher for the Jays in 2025 and beyond.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D. Living in Ottawa, I’ve only been to a handful of games, but they always tend to be a pitching duel. Marco Estrada carried a perfect game into the fourth inning on August 24, 2017, while Trent Thornton was throwing a no-hitter into the fifth in a random mid-August game in 2019.

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