We’re officially one series away from the Toronto Blue Jays home opener.
After a disastrous season-opening series against the St. Louis Cardinals — and a troublesome Jose Berrios start against the Kansas City Royals — the Jays have won three in a row looking good doing so. They’ve gotten consecutive strong starts from Yusei Kikuchi, Alek Manoah and yesterday afternoon, Kevin Gausman.
Now it’s Chris Bassit’s turn to have a chance to reset as he gets the mound tonight as the Jays pay visit to Shohei Ohtani’s LA Angels. Bassit got lit up by the Cards in his Blue Jays debut posting a 3.1 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, and 4 HR line. His first two pitches went for home runs and so did his sixth. By the end of the 1st, the Jays were already down 4-0 and the night didn’t get a whole lot easier from there.
Bassit’s known for having an arsenal of eight pitches that he can use at will but is known for his heavy use of his sinker. Say what you will about his ability to throw eight, but the truth is he’s probably best served to dwindle that number down at this point in time.
That’s going to be evermore important against the top of the order against the Angels. The top of their order is intimidating with Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Ohtani and Hunter Renfroe — all of whom can mash the ball.
First pitch: 9:38 p.m. EST
Weather: 16C. 10 MPH SW winds. (RotoGrinders)
The teams:
Toronto Blue Jays: 4-3, 2.5 GB, 0.5 WCGB. -2 DIFF, 4.71 R/G.
LA Angels: 4-2, – GB, – WCGB. +13 DIFF, 5.5 R/G.
Moneyline: TOR +105; KCR -122.
O/U: 9.5 — o9.5 +100; u9.5 -122.
O/U: 9.5 — o9.5 +100; u9.5 -122.
The Jays are dawgs for the first time this season with Vegas liking the Angels and the under here tonight.
Starting pitchers:
TOR: Chris Bassit RHP — 0-1, 24.30 ERA, 3.000 WHIP, 0.0 K9.
LAA: Patrick Sandoval RHP — 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.8000 WHIP, 3.6 K9.
Lineups:
GAME DAY PREDICTION: Chris Bassit struggles allowing two home runs, but the Jays pull out the W thanks to some late-inning heroics.
Need to bide the time until first pitch?
Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio as the crew talks about their latest series against the Kansas City Royals.
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
