NEW YORK — Remarkable as Bowden Francis’ second-half dominance last year was — highlighted by a 0.60 WHIP over 65 innings after the all-star break and two no-hit bids carried into the ninth inning — some wonder lingered about his 2025 encore. 

As pitching coach Pete Walker put it, “everybody would be dreaming to think he’s going to do that every time out, but first time out (with 5.1 no-hit innings to begin a six-inning, two-run outing against Washington) he does it, so I wouldn’t put anything past him at this point.”

“He’s a very determined, focused individual,” Walker continued. “He knows his game and that’s the biggest thing in the major-leagues. When you figure out your game, you run with it. We don’t have to make adjustments right now. We don’t have to add pitches. We don’t have to do anything except execute pitches and attack hitters.”

Francis once again demonstrated that during a cool and grey Sunday at Citi Field, when he held down the New York Mets — one of the teams he no-hit for eight innings last year — to a pair of runs over 5.1 innings with six strikeouts in what finished as a 2-1 Toronto Blue Jays loss, capping a three-game sweep.