TORONTO – The Braves began a six-game road trip Friday in Toronto, losing 3-0 to the Blue Jays.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. The Braves faced Chris Bassitt three times last season while he was pitching for the Mets. He had a 1-2 record with a 4.60 ERA in those contests. This time, in a Blue Jays uniform, Bassitt came out ahead.
Bassitt was excellent, pitching a two-hit shutout. He struck out eight and walked two. The Braves rarely had scoring chances; they went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
“He was just on, man,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We didn’t barrel up too many balls, that’s for sure. … There wasn’t a lot of great contact. I think that’s only the second time this year we’d been shut out (also April 19 against the Padres). That was just a really well-pitched game against us.”
2. The top of the Blue Jays’ order – George Springer, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – have combined for seven All-Star appearances. To start Friday’s contest, they combined for three strikeouts, all completed by whiffing on Spencer Strider’s slider. The 18-pitch first inning showed what type of night was coming.
Strider went 6-2/3 innings, striking out 12 and walking one. He threw a career-high 110 pitches, allowing two runs on five hits. “I felt great,” Strider said. “I threw strikes. Murph (catcher Sean Murphy) called a terrific game. The only trouble we got in was when I started thinking and stopped executing a couple times. ... They played great. Bassitt was terrific. Can’t take that away from them at all. Just a tough loss.”
“I thought he was really, really, really good,” Snitker said of Strider. “Holy cow. He kept us right there. It was a really strong outing.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
3. Strider entered the evening tied with Blue Jays starter – and former Braves righty – Kevin Gausman for MLB’s strikeout lead. Both had 67, though Strider accumulated his in eight fewer innings. Friday was Strider’s 12th consecutive performance with at least eight strikeouts, the longest active streak in MLB. Additionally, Strider has allowed three or fewer runs in seven of eight starts this season.
4. Snitker replaced Strider with lefty Danny Young with a runner on second and two out in the seventh. Young walked the left-handed-hitting Kevin Kiermaier and Springer before throwing what seemed to be a wild pitch (but was ruled a passed ball) that produced the Blue Jays’ second run.
Snitker said there was no consideration to leaving Strider in: “I didn’t want a long at-bat or anything like that,” Snitker said. “He’d done his job.” Left-hander Dylan Lee was unavailable after pitching 2-2/3 innings Wednesday and southpaw A.J. Minter had pitched Tuesday and Wednesday in “stressful” innings against the Red Sox.
As for Young, Snitker added: “Danny had been throwing well. He’s done a really good job. It didn’t work out great tonight but he still kept the game manageable, I guess. We just have to be careful with all these things like that. I didn’t want to warm A.J. up and do an iffy type thing, get him up for an inning and then the inning doesn’t come to fruition and you have to set him down.”
5. In the fifth, outfielder Eddie Rosario hit a one-out double and second baseman Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch, but Rosario was thrown out trying to steal third. After a balk, catcher Travis d’Arnaud was hit by a pitch and outfielder Michael Harris walked. But Bassitt escaped when Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia flew out to right field.
“He’s just running, trying to make something happen,” Snitker said of Rosario’s steal attempt. “He’s trying to make something happen, but … (his thoughts tailed off).” On a positive note, Rosario has continued making strides offensively. He’s hit safely in nine consecutive games, hitting .343 (12-for-35) over that stretch.
The Braves’ other best opportunity came an inning later, when outfielder Ronald Acuna singled and first baseman Matt Olson walked to begin the sixth. But third baseman Austin Riley hit into a double play. Murphy flew out to end the inning.
Stat to know
15-4 -- The Braves fell to 15-4 on the road. They’ll need to win the next two in Toronto to avoid their first road series loss of the season. They’ve been 6-0 in series away from Truist Park thus far.
Quotable
“We just couldn’t get the big hit. It’s more what (Bassitt) was doing than anything. He was keeping us off balance. Credit goes to him.” - Snitker
Up next
The Braves and Blue Jays play Saturday afternoon with Bryce Elder (3-0, 1.74) facing Jose Berrios (3-3, 4.91).
