It’s been Bowden Francis’ world, and we’re all just living in it.

After his first two appearances this season came in the rotation, they couldn’t have gone worse, allowing seven earned runs to the Houston Astros and five to the New York Yankees. Working out of the bullpen for much of the season, he fared much better, dropping his ERA to 3.96 while making one start between April 13th and August 4th.

But Francis’ last three appearances have all been as a starter, and they’ve quite simply been some of the best performances of his career. He’s allowed just three earned runs across 19 innings to the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago Cubs, hurling seven innings in each of his last two starts. Over the trio of games, he’s held opposing batters to a stunningly low .352 OPS.

The good times have been rolling, indeed, striking out 33 percent of the 66 batters he faced, while issuing just one walk over that time. That’s right — just one walk.

His sudden arrival comes at a time of year where all players on the Blue Jays are looking to make names for themselves, and while in the big picture this time of year is meaningless given Toronto’s impossible chances of making the post-season, it means the world for young players.

First pitch: 1:07 p.m. EST.

TV & Radio: Sportsnet, SN590.

Moneyline: TOR -185; LAA +155.
Spread: TOR -1.5 +110; LAA +1.5 -130.
Over/Under: o8.5 +100; u8.5 -120.

*Odds at the time of publishing. Odds subject to change.

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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.