Robert Bowden Francis ( ; born April 22, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He was selected by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in the seventh round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Blue Jays.

Early life

Francis was born in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. He attended

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed sever ...

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College, part of the state's public system. The official nickname of Marianna is "The City of Southern Charm". The population was 6,24 ...

, and was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Francis made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Brewers The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Fi ...

, pitching to a 8.10

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in four games. Francis split the 2018 season between the Class–A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are nam ...

and the Advanced–A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, posting a 7–10

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

, 4.50 ERA, and 106

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 128

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. The following season, Francis split the year between Carolina and the Double–A

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in ref ...

, and posted an 8–9 record, 3.97 ERA, and 165 strikeouts in 142 innings of work. Francis did not play in a game in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

's cancellation of the minor league season. Francis began the 2021 season with Biloxi before being promoted to the Triple–A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

at the end of May. In 11 games between the two levels, Francis logged a 7–3 record and 3.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 6, 2021, Francis was traded to the

along with Trevor Richards in exchange for

Rowdy Tellez Ryan John "Rowdy" Tellez ( ; born March 16, 1995) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pitts ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

and remained with the team for the rest of the minor league season. In 73 innings for the Bisons, Francis went 6–4 with a 4.19 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He was added to the 40-man roster following the season on November 19, 2021. On April 25, 2022, Francis was called up by the Blue Jays. He made only one appearance against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, tossing a scoreless inning with one strikeout. On June 18, Francis was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple-A. He began the 2023 season with Triple-A Buffalo, making four starts and recording a 3.45 ERA with 23 strikeouts in innings pitched. On June 6, 2023, Francis had his contract selected to the major league roster. In 20 relief outings for Toronto, he recorded a 1.73 ERA with 35 strikeouts across innings pitched. Entering the 2024 season, the Blue Jays announced that Francis would be part of their season–opening rotation. On August 24, 2024, Francis threw 8

no-hit In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine ...

innings against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

before Taylor Ward hit a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth to break it up. This was the first time a Blue Jay threw 8 no-hit innings since Brandon Morrow went versus the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

in 2010 and would have been the second no-hitter in Blue Jays history following Dave Stieb in 1990 vs the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. After following this performance with 7 innings of 1 hit ball against the

on August 29, Francis was named the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

Pitcher of the Month, becoming the 2nd Jays pitcher to win the award in 2024 after Jose Berrios. On September 11, 2024, Francis again threw 8 no-hit innings at home, this time against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, only for Francisco Lindor to hit a game-tying leadoff home run, and the Mets to win 6–2. Francis became the second pitcher in Blue Jays history to have multiple no-hit bids of 8 innings, following Stieb, and the first pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to have multiple no-hit bids of 8 innings within his first 11 career starts. He also became the first pitcher to lose multiple no-hit bids in the 9th inning in a season since

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

in 1989.

Personal life

Francis was named for

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

. Francis's mother died from breast cancer in 2014. Francis's younger brother, Harrison, was selected by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the fourth round of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Bowden 1996 births Living people Arizona League Brewers players Baseball players from Tallahassee, Florida Biloxi Shuckers players 21st-century American sportsmen Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Carolina Mudcats players Chipola Indians baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Toronto Blue Jays players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players