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| Chris Bassitt threw a complete game shutout in a 3-0 shutout win over the Braves |
After an off day yesterday, the Blue Jays returned home to take on the Atlanta Braves. This game also marked Buck Martinez's return to the broadcast booth (the longtime Blue Jays play-by-play man is reducing his schedule after last season's health scare with cancer). In 2021, the Blue Jays swept the season series against Atlanta, outscoring the Braves 43-20. Chris Bassitt got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. George Springer was back in the lineup and in RF after missing a couple of games with a nagging injury. The rest of the lineup was the same as Wednesday's game. Could the Blue Jays snap the 2-gane skid? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th as George Springer singled scoring Whit Merrifield. Kevin Kiermaier was thrown out at home trying to maje it a 2-RBI hit for Springer
- The Blue Jays added a run in the botom of the 7th on a passed ball by Braves catcher Sean Murphy that scored Nathan Lukes
- Spencer Strider pitching line: 6.2IP 5H 2R (both earned) 1BB 12K 110 for strikes (80 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 8th as Daulton Varsho annihilated a solo bomb to dead center
- Chris Bassitt pitching line: 9IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K 103 pitches (70 for strikes)
- Final score: Blue Jays 2 Braves 0
My Take:
- Chris Bassitt was excellent, throwing a complete game shutout, scattering a pair of hits and walking 2 and striking out 8. Complete games, once fairly common, have become few and far between with the pitch count and analytics largely dictating how long a pitcher remains in the game. Including Bassitt tonight, ten pitchers have pitched a complete game this season and no pitcher has done it more than once. The last Blue Jays to pitch a complete game was Hyun-Jin Ryu back on Sept 6, 2021 in a rain-shortened game that ended after 6 innings. Marcus Stroman was the last Blue Jays pitcher to pitch a complete game in a game that went 9 innings, back on April 23, 2017. He also threw a complete game two starts prior on April 12, 2017. You have to think that John Schneider allow Basstt to finish the game partially due to recent performance by the bullpen and also because the Blue Jays are at the beginning of a strech of 17 games in 17 days and 30 games in 31 days.
- Offensively, the Blue Jays did enough to win. They did it with a clutch RBI single from George Springer, heads up base running from Nathan Lukes on a passed ball and power on a mammoth bomb from Daulton Varsho
- The Blue Jays were 1-7 with runners in scoring position
- Up next, the Blue Jays go for 2 straight wins and their 9th series win of the season. Jose Berrios starts against Braves righty Bryce Elder
