Home Baseball Chris Bassitt leads Blue Jays in win over Giants

Chris Bassitt leads Blue Jays in win over Giants

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TORONTO — Welcome back to Blue Jays baseball.

There was life at Rogers Centre long before first pitch on Friday evening, pockets of small talk and laughter filling the clubhouse as teammates caught up after the All-Star break. The pregame defensive drills had rhythm, there was some extra oomph to those batting practice swings.

In case that didn’t show just how happy they were to be back, the Blue Jays left no doubt of it on the field, riding their signature small ball and elite defense to a 4-0 win over the Giants.

They looked every bit like the team that climbed to first place in the American League East earlier this month, with contributions coming from up and down the lineup and different heroes showing up at the right time.

It minimized any worries about a potential disruption to their first-half flow.

“We were doing so good, so it was kind of weird,” said Will Wagner, who had his hero turn with a two-run double in the win. “Like, yeah, we want the break, but we’re playing so well that you don’t want to take the break at the same time. So I think everyone was just excited to get back and keep going with what we were doing before the break.”

The good times came rolling right back.

That was highlighted in a four-run second inning in which all nine of Toronto’s hitters came up to the plate against Justin Verlander. Four singles, two doubles and a hit batter later, the Blue Jays handed the game back to with a comfortable lead.

Toronto’s starter was rolling, too. Bassitt kept the Giants scoreless through 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking none. Of the 10 hits the right-hander allowed, only one was for extra bases — a double from Rafael Devers. A pair of early double plays and a knack for pitching to soft contact allowed Bassitt to skirt trouble despite the traffic.

With a long layoff and a relief appearance on Sunday, this was far from a normal start for Bassitt. But it allowed manager John Schneider to evoke a new favorite jargon.

“I’ve said it all along: Chris does weird well,” said Schneider. “Coming out of the ‘pen in Sacramento is not easy to do, and then just getting back into his routine. So we trusted him to kind of do his thing over the break, and he didn’t miss a beat.”

There was comfort in watching a win that looked like so many others this season. The Blue Jays relied on their established offensive identity, striking out just twice and turning to Wagner, Nathan Lukes and Joey Loperfido to drive in runs.

“All the credit to [batters] one through nine, whoever we roll out there,” said Bassitt. “Because from a starting pitching standpoint, it’s really difficult when you’re not really able to just focus on three or four hitters. And unfortunately for the league, the majority of teams are kind of like that.

“So yeah, it helps us a lot because I think it takes a lot of pressure off of Bo [Bichette], [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] and [Alejandro Kirk]. If you get hurt by those guys, you can’t let that happen. But then all of a sudden, you let your guard down a little bit because they’re not Bo and Vladdy. And the guys that are so-called role players are taking advantage of it.”

Eventually, teams will need to start worrying even more about Bo and Vladdy, though.

Guerrero’s cold spell continued on Friday in an 0-for-3 outing with a walk and a double play on the ground that kept Toronto from adding to the lead. For all the talk of lineup length, this club is still waiting for the constant threat that Vlad’s bat can provide when it gets going.

But the confidence in the young slugger remains intact, and the ability to keep coming away with wins — especially in a tough stretch of the schedule — is encouraging. Besides, with the July 31 Trade Deadline less than two weeks away and the expected return of guys like Daulton Varsho, Anthony Santander and Andrés Giménez from the injured list, the Blue Jays don’t need to have it all figured out right now. Starting the second half with a win gives them enough firm ground to stand on.

“You never really know how it’s gonna go,” said Schneider. “But I thought the guys did a good job of coming in yesterday and kind of shaking the rust off a little bit.”

By the time 41,339 fans took their seats, the rust was all but gone, and the building was booming with promise again.

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