Chris Bassitt got back on track, tossing an eight-inning scoreless gem, allowing just three hits on 109 pitches in a 4-0 New York Mets victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
While he struck out seven, the contact he allowed couldn’t have been more timely, using three inning-ending double plays to keep the Brewers at bay.
It was just the second time in Bassitt’s career that he went at least eight innings of scoreless ball while allowing three hits or fewer — the only other instance coming last year with the Oakland Athletics when he pitched a complete-game two-hitter on May 27 against the Los Angeles Angels.
Such an outing couldn’t have come at a better time considering the right-hander possessed a bloated 7.62 ERA over his previous five starts.
In the meantime, Pete Alonso drove in another two runs in the win, bringing his season total up to 59 and temporarily tying him with Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez for the most in Major League Baseball.
It was a triumphant return home for New York following a 10-game road trip out in California. Tuesday night was the team’s ninth straight win at Citi Field and their 10th in their last 11.
The Mets hung three on struggling Brewers starter Adrian Houser in the first inning to get off to a quick start upon their return home.
Alonso picked up his 58th RBI, extending his National League lead, with a laser beam of a single to left field to score Brandon Nimmo, who led the game off with a double.
Jeff McNeil proceeded to pick up one of the quirkier doubles of his career, hitting a comebacker that glanced off the glove of a leaping Houser and redirected past second baseman Luis Urias. While the ball never left the infield, McNeil managed to cruise into second while Starling Marte came in from third.
While Alonso was held up 90 feet from home, he came home for New York’s third run of the frame thanks to an Eduardo Escobar sacrifice fly.
It was all Bassitt needed as he efficiently mowed down the Brewers.
After facing the minimum through his first four innings of work — a lone hit by Jace Peterson in the third canceled out by a double play — he ran into his first bit of trouble.
An error by Francisco Lindor allowing Urias on and an Omar Narvaez single put runners at first and second with one out. But Bassitt came through, coaxing a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play by Hunter Renfroe.
Through five frames, he didn’t throw more than 17 pitches in an inning — his grand total up to that point at a lean 67.
For his trouble in the fifth, Alonso gave him another run of support with another laser of an RBI single, this time with two outs in the bottom of the frame to score Starling Marte from second.
Bassitt’s trouble only grew in the sixth, though, as a walk to Peterson and a single from Christian Yelich put runners at the corners with one out. But again, a timely grounder saved the day when Willy Adames rolled into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
The timely double play allowed him to come out for two more dominant innings. He threw just eight pitches in a 1-2-3 frame that featured two strikeouts on six consecutive pitches to end the seventh before setting down Milwaukee in order again in the eighth with another two punchouts.
