Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt will try to continue his success against the New York Yankees in the opener of a three-game series in Toronto Monday night.
Both teams are coming off a winning series. The Blue Jays defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-0 Sunday to take two of three and improve to 4-2 on their nine-game homestand.
The Yankees missed sweeping the host Cleveland Guardians when they lost 8-7 in 10 innings in the series finale on Sunday.
Bassitt (1-2, 5.06 ERA) did not allow a run over 14 2/3 innings against the Yankees last season in two starts, with one win. He struck out 19 and allowed eight hits. In three career starts against the Yankees, he is 1-0 (0.87 ERA).
Bassitt did not pitch in the first series between the teams April 5-7 in New York when the Yankees won two of three.
He struggled in his first two starts of the season before going a solid 6 2/3 innings Tuesday in a 5-3 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners. Bassitt allowed one run on five hits and struck out eight.
“His outing was great,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He was in total command.”
Bassitt will face right-hander Luis Gil (0-0, 3.00) who has not pitched since April 7 when he allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays. He yielded two hits and four walks while striking out eight in his second start of the season. Gil is 0-0 with a 5.87 ERA in two career starts against Toronto.
Gil showed electric stuff but was erratic in his start against Toronto earlier this month.
“Honestly, I thought he was missing a little bit,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after that game. “I felt like that got the best of him a little bit out there emotionally. … Good learning moment. He settled in. Obviously, we want him to get a little bit deeper, but gave us one-run baseball into the fifth inning and set us up.”
The Blue Jays received a two-hit, seven-inning start from Jose Berrios in winning their rubber match against the Rockies on Sunday. Justin Turner continued to produce for Toronto with three hits and three RBIs.
“We’re getting going,” Turner said. “And I still don’t think we’re even close to scratching the surface of the potential of the offense. So we’ll keep showing up and keep working.”
Meanwhile, the Yankees took a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the 10th but could not hold off the Guardians.
“Tough one,” Boone said. “Again though, the compete is so good with this group. We just didn’t make a few plays we needed to make. Certainly when you grind through and get a lead there, it’s always tough (to lose), but onward and got a big series starting (Monday).”
Anthony Rizzo’s two-run single in the top of the 10th gave the Yankees the lead. New York missed a chance at a double play in the bottom of the 10th and got only one out on a bobble on the transfer by shortstop Anthony Volpe. It proved to be costly.
“We’re out there working all the time to make those types of plays,” said Volpe, who tied the game in the ninth with a two-out RBI double. “Definitely taking it on the chin right now.”
–Field Level Media
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