Chris Bassitt Assesses His Productive Outing Against Former Team

Entering Friday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles knew the mission at hand after winning a crucial series against the Cleveland Guardians — continue to diminish the gap and hold their division rival from gaining ground. 

Baltimore sent starter Chris Bassitt to the mound to face his former team, one season removed from playing a crucial role in their deep postseason run in 2025. 

Opposing future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, Bassitt turned in an efficient outing that put the Orioles in position to win, which was backed up by some strong run support early on in a 7-4 victory.

“Overall I just felt like my pitch ability kind of saved me,” Bassitt said, according to Orioles on MASN. “Execution wasn’t great, fell behind a little bit, but being able to mix pitches helped.”

In his five innings of work, Bassitt dealt with some traffic on the basepaths as he allowed six hits and walked three batters, though that did not stop him from limiting the damage. The right-hander allowed just two runs and put himself in line for the win. 

Bassitt’s outing was immediately backed by a leadoff home run from Dylan Beavers, which was then followed by a five-run outburst in the second inning that gave Bassitt an early six-run cushion to work with.

Facing his former team at his old ballpark, the win meant more for Bassitt – he kept the Orioles in the win column and won ultimate bragging rights against his former teammates.

“Glad we won for sure because I know a lot of those guys would not let me hear the end of that one,” Bassitt said. 

Bassitt acknowledged the competitive nature of his opposing starter and former teammate, Max Scherzer, who he had high praise for after the two went head-to-head. 

“Max is one of my, if not my favorite player I’ve ever played with,” Bassitt said. “I can brag a little bit about this one I guess.” 

Since the Cleveland Guardians came out on top with a win on Friday, the Orioles remain three games back of the final AL Wild Card spot with 14 games remaining on schedule. As the Orioles hope to build ground while facing one of their competitors for a postseason spot, with the Blue Jays sitting two games back of the Guardians, the focus in the clubhouse remains on taking things game-by-game.

Bassitt emphasized the notion as Baltimore aims to further their winning stretch.

“Is every game must-win? No, but you kind of have to treat every game right now like a must-win,” Bassitt said. “We don’t have a lot of games left… every game is really important.”