TORONTO – In the sixth inning of Thursday’s game at Rogers Centre, John Schneider jogged out to the mound to chat with right-hander Chris Bassitt. The Blue Jays manager didn’t motion to the bullpen, so it was clear the purpose of this trip was to talk with his starter.
The stakes were about as high as they could get. The San Diego Padres had runners on first and third with one out as the Blue Jays were clinging to a 1-0 lead. With left-handed hitter Jake Cronenworth coming to the plate, Toronto left-hander Tim Mayza was ready to go in the bullpen and watched the mound conference from afar.
All four Blue Jays infielders plus catcher Alejandro Kirk congregated on the hill while Bassitt spoke to his manager, glove covering his mouth. Less than a minute later, Schneider jogged back to the dugout leaving the ball in Bassitt’s hand.
“There's been a couple of times this year where he's come out,” Bassitt said. “It wasn't so much asking me about certain things, it was just game plan. ‘You got them?’ [he asked] and I said, ‘Yeah.’ Sometimes there's matchups where I won't be as comfortable. But I was feeling our plan in that spot was good.”
The plan certainly worked as Bassitt retired Cronenworth with a weak infield pop-up and induced an inning-ending groundout from Gary Sanchez to preserve the narrow margin in what eventually became a 4-0 Blue Jays win in front of 43,196 fans. It also represented a defining moment in the contest that helped the club avoid a three-game sweep and finish its homestand with a 4-2 record.
“He said he was feeling good [and] went right through his sequence of pitches he was going with to Cronenworth,” Schneider said of his chat with Bassitt. “And he executed it. A guy like that, you trust when he's got a good plan.”
Bassitt earned the “W” with a scoreless performance in which he allowed just four hits and one walk, striking out five over six innings. He was followed by Blue Jays relievers Mayza, Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano — pitching for the first time since exiting the All-Star game with a sore lower back — who each tossed an inning of scoreless relief.
The Blue Jays needed every ounce of what Bassitt could offer, given the state of its offence during most of this three-gamer versus the Padres. The lineup didn’t record an extra-base hit during the series until Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s opposite-field solo home run off Padres reliever Luis Garcia in the seventh inning on Thursday. Kirk added a two-run homer in the eighth frame to push the score to 4-0 and provide some breathing room for his pitching staff.
Padres left-hander Blake Snell, who sits second in the National League with a 2.67 ERA, was erratic on an afternoon in which he essentially mimicked a trapeze artist. He issued seven walks and five hits over his five innings, but surrendered only one run while striking out four. At one point, 10 of the first 17 Blue Jays batters reached base, but the club had just a lone run to show for it.
George Springer walked in the first inning but was erased when Bo Bichette grounded into a double play. Guerrero Jr. followed that with a walk but was promptly picked off at first base. In the second, Whit Merrifield singled up the middle and stole second base but was later caught trying to nab third.
Right-fielder Jordan Luplow put the Blue Jays on the board with an RBI single in the second, but the lineup also squandered prime opportunities when it stranded the bases loaded in the fourth and a two-on, none-out situation in the fifth.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs with the lineup, we all know that,” Guerrero Jr. said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “But we're the kind of guys that go out there and compete every single day. We all have a plan and I really believe if we continue to make adjustments to follow that plan, eventually things are going to go our way.”
The first baseman added that it felt good to pick up a pitching staff that’s carried the team for the most part this season.
“The way that our pitching stuff is handling everything, they’ve been pitching great,” said Guerrero Jr. “Especially when we're winning by one or two runs, you feel very confident in the way they're going to perform and that they're going to keep the score.”
Bassitt lowered his season ERA to 3.92 and improved his team-leading innings total to 121.2, a number that ranks third in the American League. He’s been especially dominant at home this season improving to 6-1 with a 2.24 ERA in 10 starts and 64.1 innings at Rogers Centre.
“He's been awesome,” said Schneider. “He's been good as nails, especially at home. Another great outing from him.”
Along with right-handers Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman, Bassitt has carried a heavy workload for the Blue Jays this season. The club’s rotation, which also features Yusei Kikuchi and Alek Manoah, collectively ranks and fifth in the majors with 530.2 innings pitched and seventh with a 3.92 ERA.
“We're doing a really good job,” said Bassitt. “It's kind of awkward the way that our starters have kind of went about this year. But the truth of the matter is we threw five All-Star pitchers together on one staff. We better be good.
“Obviously, we have been this year. But overall, I mean, if you're expecting something else, I don’t know what you're expecting.”
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