Mets Nearly No-Hit, Come Back in Ninth to Stun Blue Jays

For the second time in less than three weeks, Bowden Francis came within three outs of a no-hitter.

Francis was on the verge of history on Wednesday in Toronto. Facing a Mets offense that had only scored six runs in its previous three games, he spun his way through eight no-hit innings — just as he did on Aug. 24 against the Angels.

But in a cruel twist of fate for Francis, and a massive source of relief for the Mets, his no-no bid ended the same way it did against the Angels: with a ninth-inning leadoff home run. This time, it came to Mets MVP candidate Francisco Lindor. The Mets went on to rally for five more runs in the ninth, ultimately pulling out a massive 6-2 win that earned them a series victory.

The hard-fought win assured that they’ll be at least tied with the Braves for the third Wild Card spot at the end of the day, if not in sole possession.

Sean Manaea gave the Mets another strong start to continue the pristine season he’s provided to New York. At the time of his exit, his 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball was the inferior stat line.

The Blue Jays scored their first — and, until the ninth inning, only — run in the fourth inning. Manaea found himself in an immediate hole after surrendering two singles and a walk to start the frame, which loaded the bases with nobody out. He managed to wiggle out of it with just one run scoring on a groundout.

But the Mets’ offense had nothing to counter with. Francis set down the first 13 hitters in the Mets’ right-handed-heavy offense.

Francis’s shakiest inning came in the top of the fifth, right after Toronto took the lead. After Brandon Nimmo hit a 109 mph lineout, Francis hit Pete Alonso to end his perfect game bid. J.D. Martinez hit another ball hard, at 96 mph, that was once again caught. Both rockets found the glove of right fielder Nathan Lukes.

Francis walked Starling Marte to put the potential tying run in scoring position. But Francisco Alvarez made the third out, hitting it 92 mph into Lukes’s glove once again.

Francis only struck out one batter in his outing — Mark Vientos back in the first inning. The Mets still worked long at-bats against him and hit the ball hard several times, but had nothing to show for it before Lindor’s heroics.

Manaea collected six strikeouts through his first four innings. He retired 10 consecutive batters after getting into that bases-loaded jam. He finally relented by walking Luis De Los Santos with one out in the seventh. After collecting his eighth strikeout, he issued a walk to Brian Serven that prompted Carlos Mendoza to make the move.

Manaea’s final line was a strong one: 6.2 IP, 3 H, R, 4 BB, 8 K. He lowered his season ERA to 3.35.

Reed Garrett recorded a key strikeout of George Springer to hold the deficit at 1-0 after seven innings.

Despite already being at 102 pitches, Francis stayed in for the eighth. The Mets gave him a break by making the first two outs on just two pitches — though Alvarez’s flyout was another ball hit above 100 mph. Francis finished eight no-hit innings on 109 pitches.

So back out he came to face the top of the Mets’ order. He got ahead of Lindor 0-2 — before leaving a fastball in the upper part of the zone, one that had enough plate for Lindor to wallop into the right field seats. It was Lindor’s 31st long ball of the season.

So, in a moment that must have felt shrouded in déjà vu, Francis made his return to the dugout. Manaea paid his respect from across the field, and Francis returned the favor.

Now in a 1-1 game, right-hander Chad Green immediately got himself in a mess. An infield single and an error got Jose Iglesias to second, and back-to-back walks to Vientos and Nimmo loaded the bases with nobody out.

The walk tied Nimmo with Keith Hernandez for the sixth-most walks in Mets history.

And the jam inevitably stung the Blue Jays, as Iglesias scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Alonso. Green, continuing to struggle with his control, walked Martinez and permitted another sacrifice fly to Marte.

Toronto had seen enough of Green. In came Génesis Cabrera, whose first pitch was clobbered to straight-away center field by Alvarez for an ice-breaking three-run homer. It was the seventh of the year for the Mets’ catcher. And in the span of a half-inning, the Mets went from suffering a no-hitter and losing the series to not only ending the bid at history, but taking a commanding lead. They scored as many runs in the ninth inning as they’d scored in the previous three-plus games.

Ryne Stanek came in for the ninth inning but couldn’t finish it off. He surrendered a two-out RBI single to Addison Barger, then exited after an infield hit by Springer. Closer Edwin Díaz had to come in and record the final out, which he accomplished on just one pitch. But it was a 6-2 victory all the same, the Mets finally able to exhale and head back to their home country with a series victory in the rearview mirror.

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