TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis has lost a no-hit bid on a leadoff homer in the ninth inning for the second time in four starts.
Francisco Lindor connected on an 0-2 fastball Wednesday, sending a no-doubt drive over the right-field wall to give the New York Mets their first hit and tie the score 1-all.
Francis was immediately lifted from the game and received a warm ovation from the Toronto crowd of 29,399. The right-hander walked one, struck out one and twice hit a batter with a pitch. He threw 111 pitches, 68 for strikes.
Francis also took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 24 before Taylor Ward homered leading off the inning.
Dave Stieb pitched the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.
New York’s Harrison Bader opened the sixth inning with a drive to deep left field against Francis but Toronto’s Davis Schneider made a great catch at the wall.
Lindor followed by lining out to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base.
Guerrero also caught a soft liner from Jose Iglesias in the fourth, and Brandon Nimmo lined out hard to right field in the fifth.
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.
There have been four no-hitters in the majors this season. The Chicago Cubs threw a combined no-no against Pittsburgh last Wednesday, after complete-game efforts by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Diego’s Dylan Cease at Washington on July 25, and San Francisco’s Blake Snell at Cincinnati on Aug. 2.
The Mets have been no-hit eight times. Max Scherzer was the last pitcher to do it, with Washington on Oct. 3, 2015.
A previous version of this story corrected the date of Blake Snell's no-hitter.
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis in the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Bowden Francis winds up for a pitch to a Boston Red Sox batter in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are extending their operating agreement with Broward County for five more years, ensuring that the team remains in the market through 2033 and likely well beyond.
County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the revised terms, which include the Panthers giving $51.5 million to eliminate remaining debt on the county-owned arena where the team plays. The current deal runs through 2028.
The updated terms also give the county two five-year options to extend the agreement even further. If those extensions are not picked up, the county will have to return some or all of the $51.5 million debt payment to the Panthers.
“It was important to the county to keep the Panthers in Broward County long term,” Panthers President and CEO Matthew Caldwell said. “We're excited about it. It's a great, great step forward for our long-term future.”
What was approved Tuesday was a term sheet. Binding documents have yet to be written, though that process is expected to be relatively smooth now that this stage has been cleared. There are concessions from both sides: The county will invest $25 million annually for capital expenditures and expenses related to the operating of Amerant Bank Arena, while the team agreed to have Broward County advertising on player helmets, to continue using local businesses as vendors whenever possible and to donate at least $11.7 million over the next nine years toward local causes and promoting youth hockey.
“Public-private partnerships have to be good for both sides, and this one is,” Caldwell said.
The team recently spent well over $65 million to refurbish the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, east of the team's game-night home in Sunrise, and turn that building into the franchise's practice facility with new retail and dining options. The exact amount of what the team spent on that project isn't known; $65 million was the budget, and all the Panthers have conceded publicly is that their final costs were much higher.
“People are excited that we're here for the long-term, that we're extending," Caldwell said.
The Panthers, including playoff games, exceeded 1 million in attendance last season for the first time in team history. The team — which struggled with poor attendance and constantly dealt with relocation rumors before the franchise turned around its fortunes — was ninth in the NHL in average regular-season attendance last season.
Michael Udine, one of the county commissioners, said from the dais at Tuesday's meeting that “something special” has happened with the Panthers and the Broward community in recent years.
“When I went to the first hockey game in South Florida about 30 years ago and the ice was melting when you were in the stands, if you would have said in this short period of time that we'd be No. 9 in the NHL during the regular season for attendance, I think people would have thought that you were on drugs,” Udine said. “It's a testament to what the Panther organization has done in Broward County and in South Florida.”
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FILE - Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice lifts the Stanley Cup trophy after Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE -Fans wait in line to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, at a watch party at Amerant Bank Arena, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, FiIe)
