Bowden Francis pitches six innings as Blue Jays win third straight, beat Mariners 3-1

TORONTO (AP) — Bowden Francis pitched six innings to win for the first time in three starts, George Springer had two hits and scored twice and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Friday night for their third straight victory.

Anthony Santander and Alan Roden drove in runs with sacrifice flies and catcher Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single to help the Blue Jays improve to 8-3 at home.

Francis (2-2) allowed one run and five hits, walked one and struck out five. Jeff Hoffman finished in the ninth for his fifth save in five chances.

Springer returned to the lineup after not starting the previous three games to rest his sore left wrist. He singled and scored on Roden’s sacrifice fly in the second inning, then doubled and scored on Kirk’s hit in the third.

Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (2-1) allowed three runs and a season-high seven hits in seven innings in his first losing start of 2025.

Seattle’s Rowdy Tellez hit a solo home run on the first pitch he saw from Francis in the second inning, his second. The Blue Jays traded Tellez to Milwaukee for Francis and right-hander Trevor Richards in July 2021.

Seattle’s Randy Arozarena got caught in a rundown between third and home on Luke Raley’s two-out double in the fourth. Kirk chased Arozarena down to end the threat.

Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger matched a Blue Jays record with three outfield assists, becoming the third player to do it and the first since Rick Bosetti in 1979. Barger’s throw to third to retire Tellez trying to advance on a fly ball in the fifth was measured at 98.8 mph, faster than any pitch thrown in the game. Woo and Hoffman each had fastballs measured at 98.0 mph.

RHP Logan Gilbert (1-2, 2.38 ERA) was scheduled to start for the Mariners on Saturday against Blue Jays RHP José Berríos (1-1, 5.16).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis (44) throws to a Seattle Mariners batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette, left, is safe at second with a stolen base ahead of a tag by Seattle Mariners second baseman Miles Mastrobuoni (21) in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer (4) takes a lead off first base as Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws to a Blue Jays batter in the second inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Mariners' Rowdy Tellez (23) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Mariners' J.P. Crawford (3) moves away from an inside pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis (44) throws to a Seattle Mariners batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)