TORONTO — After learning newcomer Max Scherzer had been placed on the 15-day disabled list, Toronto Blue Jays veteran righty Chris Bassitt knew the importance of his first start of the young season.
The Blue Jays bullpen had been stretched thin in the first three games against the Baltimore Orioles, surrendering 23 runs and 30 hits, including 10 homers.
The 36-year-old Bassitt (1-0) responded with a gritty 106-pitch performance in Toronto's 3-1 win to split the season-opening four-game series on Sunday.
"We've had this plan of (Scherzer) not him missing time, making sure that he gets off on the right foot," said Bassitt, knowing Scherzer began the year battling thumb inflammation.
But the ailment got the best of Scherzer. He left his Blue Jays debut after three innings on Saturday with a strained right lat that Scherzer said was a compensatory injury.
"Whenever he can come back and help us out," Bassitt said. "That's when we need them."
The onus is on Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Bassitt and Bowden Francis to provide quality starts until Scherzer is ready to rejoin Toronto's rotation.
Bassitt did his part in the Blue Jays' (2-2) series finale, giving up eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
After surrendering a run in the first inning on a wild pitch, Bassitt exhibited his savvy by pitching out of jams to leave two runners on base in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
In the third, he coaxed Cedric Mullins into a fly out with runners on second and third base. In the fourth, shortstop Bo Bichette started an inning-ending double play.
In the fifth inning, Bassitt survived a nine-pitch at-bat against Mullins, striking him out. Mullins killed the home side with five hits in the series.
"The biggest part of it is just get it over with," Bassitt said of the lengthy Mullins at-bat. "I'm trying to go deep into the game, trying to take the workload off of our bullpen.
"I was hoping to go seven or eight today, and I was trying to be really efficient."
Toronto manager John Schneider felt Bassitt's solid mix of his splitter, cutter and sinker was the difference.
"He executed at a really high level," Schneider said. "His mix was really good."
Although Bassitt tossed the wild pitch, Toronto catcher Tyler Heineman blamed himself for the lone run.
"Chris was fantastic," Heineman said. "That is a really good Orioles lineup. He navigated through a lot of traffic in the beginning.
"And if it wasn't for the missed block by me, he would have been completely clean. I thought he did a tremendous job mixing pitches and mixing locations. He gave us what we needed when we were thin on a bullpen day."
Heineman homers
Heineman went 5 1/2 years and 256 at-bats between homers.
The backup catcher slammed a leadoff solo shot into the left-field seats in the seventh inning. His only other homer was a two-run blast in his fourth career Major League game, leading the Miami Marlins to a 4-2 win against the New York Mets on Sept. 26, 2019.
He celebrated his latest long ball with a bat flip.
"He's been working on that all spring," Schneider joked.
"I'm gonna go with the fact that I had a lot of pine tar on my hand and it got stuck," Heineman said, facetiously. "To be honest, I don't remember doing it until I just saw it (on video).
"It was a little too big. So I apologize if that offended anybody because that was not intended."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2025.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
