Shortly after his Florida Panthers shut out the Edmonton Oilers to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, head coach Paul Maurice opened his post-game press conference by congratulating his son Jake and the ECHL’s Florida Everblades — for whom Jake does play-by-play — for their third consecutive Kelly Cup win.
Bowden Francis will make his return to the Toronto Blue Jays rotation Sunday as the team looks for a series win over the Oakland Athletics.
The Blue Jays had listed their Sunday starter as to be determined but announced Saturday night that Francis would get the ball to begin the game.
The 28-year-old righty made his return from the injured list to Toronto’s pitching staff earlier this week and served as a “bulk” reliever behind Trevor Richards and Genesis Cabrera in a 10-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Francis allowed five hits, four runs and no walks while striking out two in the outing.
He will be tasked with going up against Oakland’s Mitch Spence, who owns a 3.86 ERA on the season.
The Jays’ bullpen should be in good shape after Kevin Gausman pitched a complete game in a Toronto win on Saturday.
Francis is filling Alek Manoah’s spot after it was announced earlier this week that the right-hander would be undergoing season-ending elbow surgery.
Francis began the year in the Blue Jays rotation, getting starts the first two times through, but allowed 12 total runs before being moved to the bullpen.
Acquired by Toronto in 2021, Francis has a 2-2 record with a 9.00 ERA over 18 MLB innings this season.
Watch Sunday’s game at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.
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