TORONTO — That scent of Canadian bacon permeating the ballpark late yesterday stemmed from Frank Francisco sitting squarely in a ninth-inning frying pan.
The combustible Mets closer seemed cooked again. Then he reached back and let his former team have it: whiff, whiff, whiff. The Blue Jays were finished, and the Mets had a 6-5 victory in front of 41,867 at Rogers Centre to snap a two-game skid.
Francisco, who spent last season pitching for the Blue Jays, was booed as he entered the game. He then walked the inning’s leadoff hitter, Yunel Escobar, and allowed a meek single against the shift to Jose Bautista before striking out Edwin Encarnacion, J.P. Arencibia and Eric Thames in succession to earn his 10th save in 12 chances.
Told by The Post afterward that he seemed fortunate to get the dangerous Bautista — who had already homered in the game — to hit a weak single, Francisco wore a look of disbelief.
“I got lucky?” Francisco said. “He got lucky.”
Francisco said he got booed because the fans loved him and he broke their hearts by leaving last winter. He claimed not to be extra pumped returning to an old haunt.
“I wanted to bring my best stuff out there and do my best for my team,” said Francisco, who lowered his ERA to 7.56. “Things are not going really well, but I think I’m going to get it going.”
But the fact Francisco hit 98 mph on the radar gun — he’s usually in the 94-95 range — told manager Terry Collins how much the veteran right-hander wanted this one.
Bobby Parnell (who hit 101 mph on a strikeout of Yan Gomes) allowed two runs in the eighth to pull the Jays within 6-5 and put Dillon Gee’s shot at a victory in jeopardy. Collins had a hunch Francisco would be up to the challenge in the ninth, despite his recent struggles.
“Frankie coming back here, I thought he might be amped up,” Collins said. “It was a great crowd today. The middle of that lineup, I said, ‘If you’re ever going to show your true colors, now’s the time.’ He hit 98 a couple of times on the gun so we know it’s still in there.”
Catcher Rob Johnson helped keep Francisco in check mentally.
“Obviously the atmosphere was electric,” Johnson said. “But I wanted to keep him on the same page as me and let him know that if he can locate the fastball we will win this game.”
Gee (3-3) got the victory after clunkers in his previous two starts. The right-hander pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits and four walks with six strikeouts.
The Mets took control with two runs in the fifth, extending their lead to 6-2. Daniel Murphy’s RBI single produced a run before Ike Davis hit into an RBI fielder’s choice. Mike Baxter’s third hit of the game, a single that put him within a home run of the cycle, started the rally.
David Wright, who returned to the lineup after resting Saturday with flu-like symptoms, stroked a two-run double in the first inning before Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ RBI double made it 3-0.
Baxter’s RBI triple in the second added another run and made it seem as if Francisco might not be needed, but the Blue Jays refused to let the Mets have an easy day. But in the end, the Mets could celebrate the fact they needed their closer.
“I was really happy with how he did,” Collins said. “Against a club that is red hot, they are swinging great, the middle of their lineup is very dangerous and to come in especially with two guys on and do the job he did is really special.”