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TORONTO — Bowden Francis struck out a career-high 12 in a dominant performance for the Toronto Blue Jays, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.

Francis (7-3) walked three and hit a batter in his third consecutive win. He threw a career-high 117 pitches, 84 for strikes.

Francis was working on a no-hitter before Taylor Ward drove a 3-2 fastball deep to center for a leadoff homer in the ninth. It was Ward’s 17th homer of the season.

“I would say I found a second gear in the eighth,” Francis said in his postgame, on-field interview on Sportsnet, acknowledging that the fans clearly fueled him. “And when I went out for the ninth, I felt you all, for sure.”

The crowd of 34,011 saluted Francis with a standing ovation when he was replaced by right-hander Chad Green, who earned his 14th save in 14 chances.

“The defense behind me gave me all the confidence,” Francis said. “I was just trying to stay in attack mode, and stay in that flow state, but in moments like this, it’s hard to stay like that.”

Francis, 28, was named American League Player of the Week last week after going 2-0 with an ERA of 0.64 in two starts. In the first of those, he pitched seven innings in a road win over the Angels on Aug. 12. After the victory, when the question of how long Francis would remain on the mound came up, Toronto manager John Schneider said the game “was his until he gave up a hit.”

“You’ve got to tip your hat to the kid, he almost threw a no-hitter but I’m glad he didn’t,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We couldn’t center him.”

Dave Stieb pitched the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 27th homer as the Blue Jays recorded their sixth straight win over the Angels.

“I feel very proud of him right now,” Guerrero said of Francis through a translator. “The last four or five outings he’s been incredible. Today was unbelievable.”

Angels right-hander Carson Fulmer (0-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked two.

Toronto’s Daulton Varsho singled in the first and advanced to third on Fulmer’s throwing error. Guerrero followed with an RBI double and scored one out later on Joey Loperfido‘s double.

Guerrero extended Toronto’s edge with a leadoff homer against Victor Mederos in the eighth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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