As well as Bowden Francis pitched in August, not even the most fervent Blue Jays fan would have confused the right-handed Texan as the second coming of Cy Young.
But given his brilliant body of work during August — when he was named AL pitcher of the month — it was easy to see why expectations were high surrounding Francis in his first start of September.
Reality, however, brought him back to Earth on Wednesday afternoon at the Rogers Centre as the Philadelphia Phillies completed a sweep of their mini two-game set with a 4-2 victory.
In Tuesday night’s series opener, the teams combined to score 19 runs on 34 hits, including seven home runs.
The way the first inning unfolded on Wednesday, in front of an announced paid crowd of 23,768 — which seemed much less to the naked eye — a repeat seemed to be in the cards.
Through the afternoon’s first two innings, Francis allowed five hits, the exact total he yielded in his previous 22 innings.
Included in that were two home runs, including a moon shot off the bat of Kyle Schwarber, whose leadoff homer was his second in as many games at the Rogers Centre.
Not only did Schwarber stake the Phillies to a 1-0 lead, but his bomb was also his fourth home run and sixth hit in seven at-bats in Toronto.
Once Francis settled in after facing Philly’s hitters once through the order, he was more like his August self — retiring 13 of his final 14 batters faced before being replaced to start the seventh inning.
In his six complete innings, he allowed three earned run on six hits (and zero walks) while recording six strikeouts.
Some context might be required for this outing as no team Francis faced during August comes close to what the Phillies have to offer. Some context might be required for this outing as no team Francis faced during August comes close to what the Phillies have to offer. As a team, they went deep a total of six times against the Jays.
Schwarber wound up going 7-for-9 in the two Toronto games with four homers, a double, five runs scored and seven RBIs.
Even Chris Bassitt, Tuesday’s Jays starter, acknowledged Philly’s potency at the plate.
“I think they’re one of the most talented lineups in all of baseball,” He said. “I think their hitting coach (Kevin Long) is one of the best hitting coaches in all of baseball. That combination is pretty deadly.”
This latest loss had more to do with the Jays’ lack of offence, which went scoreless for the final eight innings after plating two in the first on an RBI double by Vlad Guerrero Jr., followed by an Alejandro Kirk single.
Kody Clemens’ two-run shot off Francis restored the Philly lead in the second inning before J.T. Realmuto homered off Ryan Burr in the ninth for an insurance run.
20-20 VISION
Fans may never forget, or forgive Jays management for the off-season trade last year that sent Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Arizona for Daulton Varsho.
Varsho can play, however. His defence in the outfield, which has involved playing in left and more recently in centre field following Kevin Kiermaier’s trade to the L.A. Dodgers, is beyond reproach. In fact, very few, if any, in baseball are better.
His bat may never match his defensive play, but on a better lineup he’d be further down in the order.
When Varsho went deep on a belt estimated at 427 feet on Tuesday night, it was his 18th home run of the season. Barring a complete power breakdown, which does not seem likely, Varsho is poised to record his third consecutive 20-homer season.
The Jays will gladly sign up for a 20-homer campaign from Varsho, who is more than capable of reaching the 30 total at some point during his career.
On Wednesday, he came around to score after a one-out double in the first inning, but that was the extent of his offensive contribution, a 1-for-4 afternoon improving his average a tick to .218.
HARPER HURTING
Bryce Harper made only one plate appearance on Wednesday after being hit by a Francis pitch in the first inning. He took the pitch flush off his sternum only to have the ball deflect off his torso and then hit him on his left elbow. The official word from the Phillies was an elbow contusion for Harper.
The Jays plunked another Phillie when reliever Ryan Burr drilled Brandon Marsh to lead off the seventh. Marsh was in some pain as he made his way to first, but remained in the game and completed a 3-for-3 afternoon with a double in the ninth.