Blue Jays made right call to try for no-hitter despite heavy workload for Bowden Francis

While that is unfortunate for Francis, there is another element of this that is worth celebrating.

That is he was actually given a chance to go for the no-hitter.

Francis entered the ninth inning having already thrown 111 pitches in the game. For most teams in 2024 that would have been enough to have him lifted from the game due to his pitch count and in the name of protecting his arm. The Blue Jays, however, knowing that their season is over when it comes to the playoff race decided to take a chance and let Francis go for it. 

He ended up throwing 117 pitches, which is an almost unheard-of number for this era of MLB.

There is definitely something to be said for teams trying to protect pitcher's arms. You also do not want to make a habit out of letting pitchers throw 117 pitches every time they take the mound. But that mindset also gets taken too far to the extreme. Especially in special circumstances like a pitcher going for a no-hitter. Their arm is not going to fall off if they go above the normal pitch count one time in a special circumstance. Let them go for it when the opportunity presents itself.

The Blue Jays may not have gotten the no-hitter result on Saturday. It is still worth something that they let him try. 

Dave Stieb is the only Blue Jays pitcher to complete a no-hitter, having done so during the 1990 season. Francis is the fifth Blue Jays pitcher to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning since then. 

Saturday's start lowered Francis' ERA to 4.02 for the season.