Mets' offense held in check by Chris Bassitt in 6-2 loss to Blue Jays

Mets’ offense held in check by Chris Bassitt in 6-2 loss to Blue Jays

The Mets were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 on Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.

Here are some takeaways…

– David Peterson took the ball for the Mets in this one and was hurt by one bad inning. Starting with a Dalton Varsho leadoff bunt single, nine Jays came to the plate in the bottom of the third, and four of them came in to score. It marked just the second time this season that the southpaw had allowed four or more runs in a single inning. He finished a rare rough start with five runs (four earned) on eight hits while walking two and striking out two across just 4.1 innings of work.

– Unfortunately for Peterson, old friend Chris Bassitt put together another strong outing against his former team. The Mets were able to generate plenty of traffic against the crafty right-hander as he walked one, hit two batters, and allowed five hits but they managed to scratch across just one run. Bassitt has had a bit of an up-and-down second season in Toronto, but he’s now posted a quality start in two of his last three outings.

– With Brandon Nimmo struggling to produce higher up in the order, Carlos Mendoza decided to bump him down to the fifth spot for the first time this season, and the move drew immediate results. After Pete Alonso beat out a potential double-play ball to keep the top of the first going, Nimmo looped a two-out two-strike single to shallow center to get the Mets on the board.

Nimmo came up in a big spot again two innings later, but he wasn’t able to come through this time, as he struck out looking to end the inning. The outfielder finished 1-for-4 as his struggles continued at the plate, bringing his average down to .228 on the season.

– It didn’t take long for Francisco Lindor to snap his 0-for-15 skid, as he led off the top of the first with a hard-hit single to center. He drew a walk a few innings later, but was otherwise held in check, as he finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. With their offense struggling to produce big hits, the Mets really need their superstar shortstop to get back in a groove at the plate down the stretch.

– With the Mets’ loss and the Braves’ 12-0 route of the Washington Nationals, New York is now back to being tied with Atlanta for the third National League Wild Card spot with 17 games left to play.

Game MVP: Chris Bassitt

The Mets’ offense has been struggling of late, and the crafty right-hander took advantage of it, as he racked up eight strikeouts to keep them in check across his six innings of work.