MINNEAPOLIS – Max Scherzer appears to be on the verge of returning to the Blue Jays, and his return couldn’t come at a better time for the pitching staff.
Scherzer threw three innings of a simulated game at Toronto’s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., on Sunday. He gave up a home run to rehabbing teammate Daulton Varsho, but according to manager John Schneider, all were pleased with the results.
“He felt good, threw all his pitches,” Schneider said. He indicated that Scherzer would throw on the side later this week, still in Florida. After that, a rehab assignment could be imminent.
Every team would welcome a pitcher of Scherzer’s quality to their rotation, but Toronto’s need might be greater than most. Schneider has been filling the fifth slot with a variety of spot starts and bullpen games. But the Blue Jays aren’t getting much out of another starter they were counting on to produce this year, Bowden Francis.
Francis was unable to complete five innings on Sunday for the seventh time in his last nine starts as the Twins beat the Blue Jays, 6-3, at Target Field. This time, the biggest culprit was his control. Francis issued a career-high five walks in 3 1/3 innings – in other words, he walked five of the 19 batters he faced on the day.
His control was a problem from the start. Francis walked two of the first three Twins hitters, though he recovered by striking out Carlos Correa and retiring Kody Clemens on a routine fly ball.
Francis walked the leadoff man again in the second, and this time it came back to bite him as the Twins strung together a couple of hits and scored two runs.
“Early, I thought his stuff was good and he was just missing,” Schneider said. “They wore him down, basically. The walks are going to hurt you. I thought early his stuff was as it should be, and just the close misses and the walks end up catching up to you.”
Toronto’s defense bailed out Francis in the third inning, saving him from what could have been a knockout punch. After the first two batters were retired, Willi Castro singled and Ty France drew Francis’ fifth walk of the day. But with the count 2-1 on Brooks Lee, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slipped behind France and catcher Alejandro Kirk fired a perfect pickoff throw to end the inning.
It was a brief reprieve for Francis, as Lee and Christian Vázquez hit back-to-back homers leading off the fourth. Buxton followed with a smash down the third-base line, and only Addison Barger’s diving stop kept that from rattling into the corner for extra bases.
And that was it for Francis. Final line: 3 1/3 innings, four earned runs, five hits, five walks, two strikeouts and two home runs. He’s now given up a Major League-high 19 home runs in just 60 1/3 innings. That’s after he allowed 17 in 103 2/3 innings last season, when he posted a 3.30 ERA and won eight games.
Knowing that kind of performance is inside of him and being unable to replicate it this year is frustrating for everyone, but none more so than Francis himself.
“A lot of guys behind me have my back and let me know ... it’s there. I’ve got to keep polishing and keep finding it and keep learning,” Francis said. “I know it’s there. I’ve just got to keep figuring it out.”
If there were a simple fix, Francis likely would have found it already. Instead, the problems are tougher to diagnose because they can change from start to start.
“Some of it’s falling behind. Some of it’s sequencing stuff, where sometimes I put myself in a hole with some pitches and there’s less room for error,” Francis said. “I’ve got to continue to keep diagnosing, keep diving into what’s going on and trying to figure it out, because I’m not doing what I want to do right now.”
Still, his manager gave him a strong vote of confidence after the latest disappointing outing, dismissing the possibility of pairing a long reliever with Francis to allow him to narrow his focus as he sorts himself out.
“We’re kind of doing that with one spot in the rotation already, and you don’t want to wear guys out,” Schneider said. “But we trust him. He’s shown that he can do it. We’ve just got to figure out a way to get him back on track.
“We need him. That’s the bottom line. We need him to help contribute and be the pitcher that he can be.”