The Baltimore starter had something to say about MLB's replay review process after the league upheld its ruling of a foul on Pete Alonso's potential go-ahead home run against the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
Wednesday night brought an influx of emotions among the Camden Yards faithful during the seventh inning of the Baltimore Orioles' matchup against the AL East rival New York Yankees when Pete Alonso stepped into the batter's box and appeared to have launched a go-ahead home run while both teams sat in a 3-3 deadlock.
Nonetheless, Alonso and the fans' mutual excitement swiftly died down when the umpiring crew deemed it to be a foul and eventually upheld it after going through the league's replay review process.
Starting right-hander Chris Bassitt would be among the disgruntled Orioles who contested the ruling, believing that the ball remained fair.
Following the matchup, Bassitt gave his perspective not only as someone whose team came out on the short end of the stick, but also a current member of the MLBPA executive subcommittee.
"Yeah, obviously, I think it was fair," Bassitt told The Baltimore Sun. "It’s just crazy that we still have this issue. I think we might be the only major sport with an issue like this. It’s been years that we have technology that we can easily use to say this is exactly the right thing or wrong thing, and the fact that we don’t have it in 2026 is crazy. That’s my take. It’s not so much that they got the right call or the wrong call or whatever. I think if you’re going to ask the general public and get a 50/50 answer or something like that."
Bassitt did not stop there, also asserting his belief that MLB would not want to make such changes due to the added cost that naturally comes with improved technology.
"You ask every fan of this game, that’s a true fan, every single fan would want those cameras. If you ask every single player, they would want those cameras. If you ask every coach, they want the cameras. It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it."
Still, the 37-year-old did not do Baltimore any favors when he surrendered eight hits and three earned runs even as he fanned six batters through 5.2 innings of work.
Baltimore struck early in the first when Jackson Holliday successfully stole home.
Even then, New York stormed back to go up 2-1 after Ryan McMahon drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Spencer Jones scored off a sacrifice fly by George Lombard Jr. in the second. Home Run Derby participant Ben Rice then launched a solo homer to right center in the third to increase the lead.
Alonso answered back that same inning with a solo blast of his own to bring the game within one while Dylan Beavers tied it in the sixth when he went yard as well.
Unfortunately, the relief duo of Cam Sanders and Yennier Canó put the final nails in the Orioles' coffin when a flurry of miscues including hit by pitches to Heliot Ramos and José Caballero loaded the bases and eventually allowed two more Yankees to score.
While Alonso's potential homer in the seventh being waved off was a heartbreaker for Baltimore, their play throughout the matchup did not exactly help them either.
The Orioles will have their sights set on salvaging the series tonight at 6:35 p.m. EDT as right-hander Kyle Bradish toes the rubber against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole who has compiled a 3.22 ERA and recorded 92 strikeouts on the season.
