The New York Yankees travelled north of the border to kick off a three-game set against the Blue Jays. The Yankees have won 12 games and sit at the top of the American League East with 79 runs scored and 58 runs scored against going into this game.
The Yankees sent right-hander Luis Gil to the bump to square off against Jays dicer, righty Chris Bassitt. The 6’2” 185-pounder earned his spot in the Yankees rotation and held a 3.00 ERA with 14 strikeouts going into this game.
Gil was blowing up the radar gun, topping at 99mph and consistently sitting between 95-97mph. His issue tonight was command, and he did not use his junk effectively. Gil threw five innings while giving up three hits and three earned runs. He struck out six hitters but walked seven. He chucked 99 total pitches, with only 51 being strikes. He recorded only nine called strikes and 16 swinging strikes. He was replaced by right-hander Ron Marinaccio.
On the stronger side of the mound was Chris Bassitt. Let’s start with the basic observations: Bassitt was absolutely dialled in. The ball fluently left his hand at a consistent release point without any sign of pitch-tipping. His composure was steady, and his tempo was well-paced. These are all key pointers of a successful and calculated Chris Bassitt.
It appears that he was well-educated batter to batter, as his approach was carved to each outing, and he utilized the previous innings’ success to move forward. Yankees hitters looked very uncomfortable at the dish and were uneasy while down in the count. Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Anthony Rizzo were kept in the offensive cage, as they were all hitless in this game. Judge and Rizzo resulted in a total of three strikeouts on the night.
Chris Bassitt with another solid performance
6.1IP, 4H, ER, 2BB, 5K’s vs NYY#Sportsnet #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/VpGF4eyZDx— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) April 16, 2024
Bassitt used at least six or seven of his eight options to toy with the Yankees lineup. He used the corners well with the cutter and sweeper and busted lefties inside to ignite an emergency check swing that forced strikes. Bassitt finished after 6 1/3 innings, only allowing four hits, one earned run, two walks, and five strikeouts. He threw 97 pitches with 62 of those being strikes. The Jays righty threw 24 called strikes; these were pitches that painted the zone in areas of question but were perfectly placed. He had five swinging strikes and 16 in-play strikes.
Chris Bassitt picked up the 3-1 win over the Yankees after being relieved by Tim Mayza, set up by Chad Green, and saved by Yimi Garcia. The veteran righty improved to 2-2 on the year with the win.
