Blue Jays' Bowden Francis: Cruises through six innings

Francis kept rolling Thursday in his Grapefruit League outing versus the Twins, yielding just one unearned run over six innings. He struck out two.

The Twins plated a single run in the third inning following an Eduardo Escobar error, but that's the only tally they managed on the day. Francis needed only 67 pitches to get through his six frames, permitting just four singles and no walks. The right-hander lowered his spring ERA to 1.93, and he holds a 12:2 K:BB over 14 innings. With Alek Manoah (shoulder) all but certain to open the season on the injured list, Francis appears close to locking up the fifth spot in Toronto's rotation, if he hasn't done so already.