George Springer and Daulton Varsho hit home runs, Chris Bassitt pitched 7 2/3 sharp innings and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New York Mets 3-0 on Friday.
Bo Bichette and Whit Merrifield added two hits each for Toronto in the opener of a three-game series.
The game was delayed by 91 minutes at the start because of rain. The Blue Jays earned their fourth win in five games while the Mets saw their three-game winning streak end.
Bassitt (6-4) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out eight. The right-hander pitched for the Mets last season and signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in the offseason.
Tim Mayza got the last out of the eighth. Jordan Romano pitched around a ninth-inning single to earn his 14th save of the season and end the Mets’ eight-game home winning streak.
Mets right-hander Justin Verlander (2-3) allowed one run, five hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out eight.
Springer led off the first inning with his eighth home run of the season. The blast to center was his 54th career home run leading off a game to tie him for second on the all-time list with Alfonso Soriano. Rickey Henderson holds the record with 81 leadoff long balls.
Bassitt worked out of a jam in the third with two popups and a strikeout after a single, a stolen base and an error had Mets at the corners with none out.
Bichette’s infield single on a hard comebacker to the mound and a walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put the first two runners on base to open the Toronto sixth. Verlander struck out the next two batters before Merrifield’s infield hit to shortstop loaded the bases. Verlando struck out Varsho to end his outing with a season-high 117 pitches.
Bassitt, who was to fly to Toronto after the start to be with his wife, who was in labor, retired 14 batters in a row before Starling Marte singled with two outs in the seventh.
Jeff Brigham allowed Merrifield’s one-out single in the ninth, and Varsho followed with his ninth homer of the season.
–Field Level Media
