Don’t look now, but the聽Blue Jays might just have the best starting pitching in the major leagues through the first fortnight of the season.
Going into the sixth inning of Thursday’s 4-3 extra-inning loss to Boston at Fenway Park, with Chris Bassitt having limited the Red Sox to just three hits, the Jays’ rotation led the majors with a 2.38 ERA.
But Bassitt gave up a run in the top of the sixth on a two-out doink single by Alex Bregman and, when the right-hander came out of the game a batter later, the rotation’s ERA was 2.48, 0.05 higher than the New York Mets’ starters.
That’s still more than a quarter-run better than the third place Cincinnati Reds at 2.81.
You could make the argument that the Jays’ starters have been more effective than their Mets counterparts. They have delivered 80 innings of work in 14 games while the Mets’ rotation has thrown just 59 1/3 in one fewer outing.
There were questions about the rotation coming into the season 鈥- and two weeks doesn’t necessarily clarify anything聽鈥 but the biggest concerns were Bassitt and Bowden Francis and both have been outstanding.
Coming off the worst season of his career, the 36-year-old Bassitt has started this year in incredible fashion, allowing just two runs on 17 hits over 18 1/3 innings of work for a dazzling 0.98 ERA. He has struck out 21 against only three walks and has not allowed a home run.
Even with this great start, though, Bassitt has not shaken the issue that plagued him last year, when he posted a career-worst 4.16 ERA (for a season in which he made more than five starts). Left-handed batters went 3-for-10 with a walk against the right-hander Thursday and, over his three starts, they have hit .289 against him with a .746 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
That’s better than last season’s .305 and .877 numbers, but still not great. Bassitt has dominated right-handed hitters and, more importantly, he has been all but untouchable when he’s gotten in a jam, holding opponents to just one hit聽鈥 that 70 miles-per-hour single by Bregman聽鈥 in 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
No one was sure how much of an illusion Francis’s final two months of last season were, when he was the best pitcher who ever lived over nine starts, posting a 1.53 ERA and holding opponents to a minuscule .422 OPS.
The right-hander will go into Friday’s start in Baltimore with a more human 3.18 ERA while having allowed just 13 baserunners in 11 1/3 innings. He’s already taken a no-hit bid into the sixth inning this season, in his first start, a 4-2 win over Washington.
With Jos茅 Berr铆os and Kevin Gausman looking like their old selves and Easton Lucas doing his best impression of the 2024 Francis, with a 0.00 ERA through two starts while Max Scherzer works his way back from a thumb injury, the rotation seems to be in terrific shape.
What happens after the starter leaves, though, has been an issue at times. It certainly was Thursday.
Chad Green replaced Bassitt and struck out Trevor Story to strand a pair of runners. The Jays rallied to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning with the light-hitting duo of Myles Straw and Tyler Heineman each providing clutch singles. Heineman’s rocket into the left-field corner cashed the tying run.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., coming off the bench for the first time this season and only the 14th time in his career, hit a double-play ball up the middle but Story’s throw was wild, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
But what had been a very tight Jays defence was anything but in the bottom of the eighth. It started with Will Wagner whiffing on a leadoff grounder to third by pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder. It was only the Jays’ fifth error of the season.
Later in the inning, with runners on the corners and two out, Yimi Garcia threw a wild pitch to allow the tying run to score. On the same play, he threw the ball away, moving the go-ahead run to third base. He stranded that runner, but Boston tied the game without getting a hit in the inning.
After the Jays took the lead back in the 10th on a sacrifice fly by George Springer, Nick Sandlin came in to try to close it out but gave up two singles聽鈥 the first of which tied the score for the Jays’ second blown save of the game and fourth of the season聽鈥 then hit two batters in a row to load the bases.
Story followed with a little dribbler that was mishandled by three-time gold glover Andr茅s Gim茅nez, and the Red Sox avoided a four-game sweep at home.
The starting pitchers are doing the job and are the reason the Jays are tied for first in the American League East. But, boy, could they use some help.
They didn’t get any Thursday.
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