Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis rides bike after near no-hitter

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One day, Bowden Francis is going to be too recognizable to take his usual form of transportation to and from work.

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If he keeps tossing gems and coming close to throwing no-hitters for the Toronto Blue Jays – perhaps even throwing the second no-no in franchise history — that day will come sooner rather than later.

After his latest masterpiece on Wednesday against the visiting New York Mets, the rising star was caught on his e-bike outside Rogers Centre by a couple of eager fans.

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According to reports, the 28-year-old stuck around after being noticed and signed some autographs for fans before riding off.

While Jays great Dave Stieb remains the only player in team history to throw a no-hitter, Francis has come close twice this season. Wednesday’s game against the Mets was the second time this year that he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, only have it broken up by a home run.

One user on Reddit joked that perhaps Francis is more hittable on his bike dodging motorists in Toronto than he is on the mound.

“‘I don’t know, nothing special, I think he’s hittable.’ – Toronto motorists,” one user commented, referring to comments made by Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward, who broke up Francis’ no-hit bid last month.

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“I really don’t know,” Ward said post-game. “You know, I thought everything was hittable.”

The following day when Francis was being interviewed during the game’s live broadcast, fellow starter Chris Bassitt held up a hand-made sign reminding everyone, including Ward, of the statline Francis had compiled in his recent outings.

“I would never recognize this man in public, he just looks like any old hipster,” another user joked about Francis’ relative anonymity.

Other fans were impressed by the bike and Francis’ headphones, with many wondering what they were.

And, perhaps the cherry on top of this sundae, the photo was shared by the Blue Jays fan that went viral earlier this season after she got smoked by a foul ball, leaving a large welt on her forehead.

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Liz McGuire posted the photo on X on Wednesday evening, giving credit to user @LaurieWulfand.

“This is how @Bowdenpoint0 rolls after tossin near no-hitter. WHAT A BEAUTY,” McGuire wrote.

In May, McGuire posted a photo on X of herself sporting a major league-sized welt on her forehead and subsequent black eye, the result of being struck in the face by a Bo Bichette foul ball — a “110-m.p.h. bullet,”

She tagged the Jays in her post and the incident went viral.

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“Hey @BlueJays I got my face mashed in by a 110mph foul off Bo Bichette’s bat,” she wrote in a post on X.

“I didn’t even get the ball. I even stayed till the end of the game. Any way you can hook a girl up?”

The post garnered some 13 million views and attracted the attention of trading card company Topps, which announced it had made a special card commemorating McGuire.

“We made a custom Topps Now trading card of Liz McGuire: the fan who took a 110MPH Bo Bichette foul ball to the head and STAYED AT THE GAME,” the company wrote in a post on X, adding that all 110 copies of the card would be gifted to McGuire.

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After a rough start to the season, Francis has been brilliant over the past few months. Over his past six starts, he has given up just 13 hits in 43 innings and won the AL pitcher of the month award for August.

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