Blue Jays Pitcher “At A Loss For Words” After Disastrous Debut

This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. The Toronto Blue Jays' shiny new No. 3 starter, brought in on a big 3-year, $63M contract this offseason, had a disastrous debut on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals, and it's left the veteran speechless.

Chris Bassitt saw six of his different pitches get hammered by the Cards.

#BlueJays starter Chris Bassitt:

“I’m a little bit at a loss for words. I’ve never had a game like this where six different pitches were getting hit hard.”

He said the Cardinals were “way more aggressive than normal” and commended their lineup, as well.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 2, 2023

“I’m a little bit at a loss for words. I’ve never had a game like this where six different pitches were getting hit hard... so... we'll figure out why."

In just 3.1 innings, Bassitt allowed nine runs on 10 hits, and the contact on each of his offerings reached concerning proportions, with 100 mph exit velocities.

“We’ll go over all of it,” Bassitt said, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “Release heights, all that stuff, see if I was tipping, any aspect of it. We have a lot of people working that stuff, so we’ll figure out what happened. And sometimes you’ve just got to say they were a really good team and they beat the heck out of me today.”

With his six-pitch arsenal, Bassitt was calling his own game, punching his pitches in the Pitchcom on his arm, and catcher Danny Jansen was receiving the signals. With only 15 seconds between pitches (20 with runners on base) is there a chance he was a bit too rushed?

Both Bassitt and Jansen denied it, and said that part of it wasn't a problem. “We had a game plan from the get-go and in between innings we were talking about how we want to attack guys so we're on the same page,” said Jansen. “The communication was great throughout. If anything, I need to do a better job of perhaps leaving my glove up in the zone. We’ll watch it back and see.”

Four days before his next start to figure it out.

Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports