Blue Jays' Jeff Francis bails out rookie pitcher to earn first win

After Blue Jays rookie starting pitcher Daniel Norris lasted just three innings and 78 pitches on Thursday at Cleveland, Toronto leaned on veteran pitcher Jeff Francis to help pick up the slack. He did just that, earning his first relief win of the season as he allowed one run on three hits and no walks in 2 1/3 innings.

Francis has a 3.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 10 innings (four relief outings) this season.

"He's a veteran strike-thrower," catcher Russell Martin said, per MLB.com. "He's kind of deceptive -- everything comes out of the same angle. He hides the ball well and has got two different breaking balls with a nice changeup. He kind of varies the speeds on his fastball a little bit and just does enough to keep guys off balance. That's what he's been doing well."