Chris Bassitt declared everyone in the Toronto Blue Jays organization should bear the blame for its shoddy season.
Bassitt (8-9) made his remarks after the Tampa Bay Rays (52-51) throttled the Blue Jays (46-56) 13-0 with 16 hits in the rubber match of their three-game series on Thursday. “I would say there’s not a single person in probably the whole organization who’s not disappointed right now,” Bassitt said.
It’s really awful. Nobody, in my opinion, anticipated this to happen.
There isn’t a single individual with clean hands in my opinion at the moment. We haven’t done anything particularly well this year, in my opinion. Perhaps (Daulton) Varsho’s defense, then.
“Aside from Varsho’s defense, I fail to see how anyone can claim that they have done what is right.”
In addition, Bassitt said that the team’s terrible defeat was the result of them battling “demons.”
What was his meaning?
“Everything that has occurred,” Bassitt remarked.
“Whatever the reason, it’s the trade deadline, not being able to hit, and giving up so many hits. Who will be present and who won’t be present? Right now, there are a gazillion things that are plain bad.”
Given that the Blue Jays have fallen short of expectations to contend and that the trade deadline is in five days, general manager Ross Atkins is expected to part with a few senior players in return for prospects. “You have ideas of who’s not going to be around much longer and a lot of these people mean a lot to you so yeah, it’s not fun,” Bassitt said. Bassitt admitted he wasn’t sharp before 41,148 at Rogers Centre. He departed after five innings down 3-0 after tossing 97 pitches, giving up five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. But then reliever Trevor Richards entered and was worse. He only faced seven hitters, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks. “He’s been really good for us, especially earlier in the year,” Blue Jays manager John Scheider said of Richards. “But he doesn’t have a good feel for his change-up right now.
When you have two pitches, you need to be proficient in both. He’s going behind (in the count) and currently lacks command.
Tampa added five more runs in the seventh inning after scoring four in the sixth.
It was necessary to call upon Ernie Clement, who was positioned at third base, to pitch a knuckleball in order to prevent further depletion of the bullpen. He gave up a run as the Rays pushed their hit total to 16.
Taj Bradley (6-4) pitched six shutout innings and allowed only two hits, winning his third straight start.
In the first inning, Bradley, 23, gave up an infield hit to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a double to Spencer Horwitz in left field with one out.
However, the right-hander for the Rays calmed down and retired 11 straight and 17 of his last 18 innings, giving Danny Jansen just a walk in the fifth. Bradley concluded with a walk and seven strikeouts.
In front of 41,148 spectators at Rogers Centre, the series finale featured notable offensive producers in the form of Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, Alex Jackson, and Amed Rosario.
To start the scoring, Lowe sent a 414-foot home run down the right-field line and into the fifth tier. With four hits, he added two more runs scored and walked twice.
Jackson recorded three RBI on two singles, while Paredes scored four runs with just two hits. Rosario hit two singles and a double.
Schneider reports that Blue Jays utility infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has a sprained left knee, may start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday if all goes well.
Despite missing time since July 1, Kiner-Falefa has had a good season, batting.292 with an on-base percentage of.338. On deck The Blue Jays begin a three-game set against the Texas Rangers on Friday to conclude their nine-outing, 10-day homestand. Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-9) will open the series against lefty Andrew Heaney (4-10).
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