Blue Jays vs Mets: Todays Lineup - Series Finale Preview
Photo credit: https://x.com/BlueJays
The Toronto Blue Jays will try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the New York Mets this afternoon at City Field in Flushing NY. Blue Jays sophomore Bowden Francis is on the bump versus Mets veteran David Peterson today. First pitch is at 1:10 PM ET on SNY on Sportsnet.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. SS Bo Bichette
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. RF Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andrés Giménez
5. DH Alejandro Kirk
6. 3B Ernie Clement
7. LF Davis Schneider
8. C Tyler Heineman
9. CF Myles Straw
SP Bowden Francis
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. RF Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andrés Giménez
5. DH Alejandro Kirk
6. 3B Ernie Clement
7. LF Davis Schneider
8. C Tyler Heineman
9. CF Myles Straw
SP Bowden Francis
Bowden Francis was one of baseball's best pitchers over the final two months of the 2024 season.
From August onward, the 28-year-old Toronto Blue Jays righty made nine starts and posted a 1.53 ERA with 56 strikeouts while allowing just 24 hits and seven walks across 59 innings.
All told, Francis recorded a 3.30 ERA, a 22.5% strikeout rate, and a 5.4% walk rate last season across his 27 appearances (13 starts) spanning 103 2/3 innings.
It stands to reason that the minuscule .211 BABIP he allowed isn't repeatable, though it may not be due for as much of a regression as you might expect. Inducing weak contact is Francis' modus operandi on the mound, and a low BABIP is a feature of his game, not a fluke.
Considering the priority for pitchers to generate as many swings and misses as possible, when I spoke with Francis during spring training, I wanted to understand his approach to pitching. Specifically, I asked him, «How do you get guys out?»
«Pounding the strike zone,» said Francis, who was selected out of Chipola Junior College in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. «Strike percentage, getting guys on their heels more. Mixing it up and moving it around, trying to keep them off balance. Pitchability is my thing. I've never been super-overpowering. I've always been more on the crafty side.»
Francis (1-0) picked up his first win of the season after allowing two runs on two hits and three walks in six innings in his 2025 season debut against Washington. He struck out four.
It wasn't as close as the flirtations he had with no-hitters late last season, but the debut of Francis certainly renewed the promise that the big righty showed late last season.
Incredibly, it was the fourth time in seven starts that Francis kept an opponent without a hit into the sixth inning. The latest bid was broken up by a one-out homer off the bat of the Nats' CJ Abrams and followed quickly by another solo shot from James Wood.
More importantly, a line of two hits, three walks and four strikeouts was a timely outing for a rotation that has already seen some turmoil. Jose Berrios, remember, struggled in the opener and veteran Max Scherzer is out for an undetermined time due to his latest thumb ailment.
With a rotation still in flux - and with the fifth man yet to be determined in Scherzer's absence, it's critical.
For Francis, there was a little relief in bringing back his good form from last September.
«I felt pretty seamless,» said Francis, who is 5-2 while posting a 1.50 ERA in his last nine starts dating back to last season. «I didn't feel too jittery. I didn't feel out of place, like we didn't leave.
David Peterson gets the ball this afternoon for the Mets. Peterson debuted for the Mets in 2020 and has bounced back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen and everywhere in between.
While 2024 was not his first stint in the Majors as a full-time starting pitcher, it was his longest and most successful; the lefty pitched to a career-best 2.90 ERA across 121 innings in 21 starts.
Peterson carried that success over into his first start of 2025, with a masterful pitching performance against a National League East foe, the Miami Marlins.
In a six-inning start, Peterson allowed only two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out nine in the process, picking up his first win of the year and the 29th of his career.
Previously on Blue Jays Central
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 6 | 125 ANSWERS Blue Jays vs Mets: Todays Lineup - Series Finale Preview Will the Blue Jays get swept by the Mets in todays game at City Field? | ||
| Yes | 81 | 64.8 % |
| No | 44 | 35.2 % |
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