– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — There may be no harder act to follow in Major League Baseball than being the starter after Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom in the New York Mets rotation. That was the position Chris Bassitt found himself in on Monday, yet he kept the freight train moving while continuing one of his best stretches of his professional career.
Just over 24 hours after Jacob deGrom marked his return to the Citi Field mound in 13 months by going perfect for the first 5 2/3 innings, Bassitt, who did allow eight hits, had a perfect start for the Mets after playing five games in four days against Atlanta. The eight innings he threw tied a season high and marked the ninth consecutive start in which he pitched at least six innings.
His ability to get out of jams, a key aspect to going deep in games, continued during the middle part of the game after the Mets staked him to a 3-0 lead after the first three innings. Cincinnati put at least two runners on base in four consecutive innings starting with the fourth inning, but stranded every runner before any crossed the plate. The Reds got runners on first and second in the fifth inning with one out before inducing a double play from former Met Albert Almora Jr.
The sixth inning saw the Reds load the bases with two outs before Aristedes Aquino popped out to end the threat. Aquino also came up as the tying run in the eighth and the Mets up 3-1, and Bassitt ended his night by striking out Aquino swinging to end his stellar outing.
After Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch to start the game, Marte then took former New York prospect Justin Dunn deep into the left-field bleachers for a 2-0 lead after two batters. The Mets’ propensity to score runs in the first inning can be significantly attributed to Marte’s prowess in first at-bats, as he is batting .383 in the first inning with six of his 12 home runs this season coming in the first.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s contest, with photos taken by ALOST photographer Jenny Rohl. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are six pictures in total.
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