Lindor’s HR ends Jays’ no-no in 9th as Mets rally
TORONTO — Francisco Lindor broke up Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid with a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Francisco Alvarez added a three-run shot and the New York Mets scored six times in their last at-bat to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Wednesday.
“It felt really good,” Lindor said of his pivotal home run. “It was one of those hits that I could tell the vibes in the dugout were lifted.”
New York entered tied with Atlanta for the final National League wild-card playoff spot. The Braves were set to play at Washington on Wednesday night.
With the crowd of 29,399 on its feet to start the ninth, Francis got ahead of Lindor 0-2 before the four-time All-Star drilled a 92 mph fastball 398 feet to right field for his 31st home run.
“Everything was going his way until the last pitch he threw,” Lindor said.
The homer came on Francis’ 111th pitch, only the second time he has thrown more than 100.
“With that many pitches, I felt like I had to empty the tank with heaters and let him put the ball in play,” Francis said.
It was the second time in four starts Francis lost a no-hitter on a leadoff homer in the ninth; Taylor Ward connected off the right-hander for the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 24.
That made Francis the first pitcher to lose two no-hit bids in the ninth inning during one season since Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan with Texas in 1989.
“It sucks for him that it’s happened twice in the same fashion,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
Dave Stieb threw the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990. Two years earlier, Stieb lost two no-hitters in the ninth.
Francis’ two recent close calls are the longest no-hit bids by a Blue Jays pitcher since Brandon Morrow tossed 8⅔ hitless innings against Tampa Bay in August 2010.
Francis was selected AL pitcher of the month for August, when he went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA. He struck out 39 and walked four in six appearances, five starts.
“I just can’t speak enough to how he’s evolved and how much he has taken from this opportunity,” Schneider said.
Francis walked one, struck out one and twice hit a batter with a pitch.
“We couldn’t put much together,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He was on today. He’s been doing that the past few outings. Nothing overpowering, but just enough to miss barrels.”
Lindor’s drive was New York’s first home run in the past four games, and the first by either team in the series.
“He just got us going,” Mendoza said. “Special player, special person.”
Sean Manaea struck out eight in 6⅔ innings, giving up one run and three hits. Danny Young (4-0) got one out in relief to help the Mets win for the 11th time in 13 games.
Pinch hitter Addison Barger had an RBI single off Ryne Stanek with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. George Springer followed with an infield single, but Edwin Díaz needed only one pitch to earn his 18th save in 24 chances.
Chad Green (4-6) replaced Francis and gave up an infield single to Jose Iglesias, who advanced to second base on a throwing error. Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo walked to load the bases before Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly.
J.D. Martinez walked to load the bases a second time, and Starling Marte chased Green with a sacrifice fly.
Génesis Cabrera came on and gave up a first-pitch homer to Alvarez, the seventh of the season for the Mets catcher.
The Mets have been no-hit eight times. Max Scherzer was the last pitcher to do it, with Washington on Oct. 3, 2015.
New York’s Harrison Bader opened the sixth with a drive to deep left field but Toronto’s Davis Schneider made a great catch at the wall.
Francis was selected AL pitcher of the month for August, when he went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA. He struck out 39 and walked four in six appearances, five starts.
The right-hander threw 111 pitches, 68 for strikes. He walked one, struck out one and twice hit a batter with a pitch.
The Mets honored first responders with special caps, and Lindor used a custom-decorated glove on the anniversary of 9/11.
Lindor needed time when a wasp landed on his glove at shortstop in the bottom of the sixth. Second base umpire Stu Scheurwater helped out by whacking the wasp with his cap.
“They were still out there,” Lindor said. “It was one of those where we were saying, ‘Hopefully, it didn’t die.’ We didn’t want any more bugs to come around.”
Schneider drove in Toronto’s first run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
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Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — Tyler Glasnow was put on the injured list Monday with what the Los Angeles Dodgers described as shoulder inflammation, joining fellow frontline starter Blake Snell, who has been sidelined by a similar injury.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow’s right shoulder is structurally sound but is also dealing with what Roberts called “overall body soreness.”
Glasnow gave up back-to-back homers in Sunday’s first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, then was removed from the game after experiencing discomfort while warming up for the second. Afterward, Glasnow expressed frustration at his constant string of injuries and speculated that his latest ailment might stem from the mechanical adjustments he made to improve the health of his elbow.
Glasnow sat out the 2½ months of last season — including the playoffs — with what was initially diagnosed as an elbow sprain, a big reason why the Dodgers were relegated to only three starting pitchers in their march toward a World Series title. Now, he is one of eight starting pitchers on the Dodgers’ injured list.
One of those arms, Tony Gonsolin, will be activated Wednesday to make his first major league start in 20 months. But the Dodgers are short enough on pitching that they’ll have to stage a bullpen game the day before.
“Pitching is certainly volatile,” said Roberts, who added journeyman right-hander Noah Davis to the roster in Glasnow’s place. “We experienced it last year and essentially every year. I think the thing that’s probably most disconcerting is the bullpen leading Major League Baseball in innings. When you’re talking about the long season, the starters are built up to go take those innings down. That’s sort of where my head is at as far as trying to make sure we don’t redline these guys in the pen.”
Dodgers relievers entered Monday’s series opener against the Miami Marlins having accumulated 121⅓ innings, 7⅔ more than the Chicago White Sox, who are already on a 122-loss pace.
Glasnow and Snell aren’t expected to be out for a prolonged period, but their timetables are uncertain. Clayton Kershaw could return before the end of May, but Shohei Ohtani might not serve as a two-way player until after the All-Star break. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki could temporarily assume a traditional five-day schedule, as opposed to the once-a-week routine they’ve been following, but the Dodgers have only four starting pitchers on their active roster.
Glasnow, 31, is in his 10th year in the big leagues but has never compiled more than 134 innings in a season, a mark he set last year. The Dodgers acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays and subsequently signed him to a five-year, $136.56 million extension in December 2023 with the thought that his injury issues might be behind him.
“Tyler said it — very frustrating,” Roberts said. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of it.”
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