Bassitt reaches 200 innings as Blue Jays close in on playoffs with shutout of Yankees

Chris Bassitt never told Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider or pitching coach Pete Walker what his personal goal was for the year.

But when they sent him back out to the mound for the eighth inning on Thursday, Bassitt knew they also wanted him to reach 200 innings in a season for the first time in his career.

Bassitt struck out Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the final out of his 7 2/3 inning performance as the Blue Jays routed New York 6-0 at home on Thursday as Toronto took a step toward clinching a post-season berth. Bassitt (16-8) gave up five hits and a walk but struck out 12 to also reach a career high in wins.

Bassitt told reporters that he believes 200 innings is the benchmark for elite pitchers.

"Throw 160, I've done it. Throw 180, I've done it. But to get to 200 innings you have to have so many people who trust you," said Bassitt. "You have to have so much work behind the scenes that people don't see. It's been my only goal forever.

"So to get it, to have this organization believe in me like they do, it means the world to me."

The win gave the Blue Jays a one-game lead over the idle Houston Astros in the race for the American League's second wild card. It also gave Toronto a two-game lead over the Seattle Mariners, who beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 later Thursday.

"I didn't try to chase 200 innings. I never tried to do that. I try to chase the post-season," said Bassitt, who signed a three-year, $63 million US deal with Toronto in December after his New York Mets lost in the National League's wild-card series. "Honestly, there's been a pain that I've held for well over a year just because of how last year ended for me.

"I just promised myself that I'm going to give the best chance I've got to whoever signs me, every single day. That's truly what I've done."

WATCH | Blue Jays close to clinching playoff spot:

Toronto Blue Jays very close to clinching playoff spot

1 year ago

Duration 2:00

The Toronto Blue Jays are close to clinching a playoff spot, despite losing two pivotal games. Their success comes in a season filled with some extreme lows, and unexpected highs.

Bats come alive

Brandon Belt smashed a three-run home run as Toronto (88-71) shook off a two-game scoring drought. Daulton Varsho and Matt Chapman both had home runs and Cavan Biggio added an RBI single as the Blue Jays racked up 13 hits.

"I think that that's something we can do more and more," said Belt of Toronto's offensive output. "We were able to pick it up today knowing that we're pretty close to getting into the playoffs.

"I think that's something that hopefully we'll see as we go through the playoffs."

Relievers Yimi Garcia and Tim Mayza preserved Bassitt's victory.

Luke Weaver (3-6) struck out six but gave up two runs on six hits over four innings as New York (81-78) had its three-game win streak snapped. Greg Weissert, Zach McAllister and Yoendrys Gomez came on in relief.

Scoring drought snapped

The Blue Jays finally broke their 20-inning scoring drought when Varsho led off the third with a home run. His 19th of the season flew 380 feet to deep right field.

Bassitt protected Toronto's narrow lead in the fourth, inducing a flyout by Austin Wells, then striking out Giancarlo Stanton and Oswaldo Cabrera.

Chapman rewarded Bassitt's fine pitching in the bottom of the fourth, keeping his 16th home run of the season inside the right-foul netting for a 2-0 Toronto lead.

The Blue Jays tacked on another run in the fifth. Bo Bichette singled and then stole second with two outs. Biggio's base hit dropped into shallow centre field with the all-star shortstop crossing the plate standing up.

Belt poured it on in the sixth. Varsho drew a one-out walk and then fellow outfielder George Springer singled. That brought Belt to the plate.

McAllister got two strikes on the veteran designated hitter, but Belt made no mistake on the third pitch. He launched a 92.2 m.p.h. sinker 409 feet to deep right field, giving the Blue Jays a commanding 6-0 lead.

Bassitt struck out Judge in the eighth with his 106th pitch of the night to reach the 200-inning milestone. The 36,657 fans at Rogers Centre gave him a standing ovation as he was pulled from the game after fanning Judge.

Schneider announced after the game that left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (10-6) would start on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Aaron Civale (7-4) will take the mound for Tampa Bay, who were guaranteed the top spot in the wild card after the Baltimore Orioles won the AL East title on Thursday with a 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Big weekend of baseball

Here's a look at some of the other series this weekend that will decide the postseason field:

Rangers at Mariners: This is a big four-game set that actually began Thursday night, with both teams fighting for position in the AL West and the AL wild-card race. The Rangers have played well over the past 1 1/2 weeks, opening a 2 1/2-game division lead. Texas probably is fine with a win or two in the series while Seattle might need to sweep.

Rays at Blue Jays: The Rays have already secured their berth and are locked into their playoff spot after the Orioles won the AL East on Thursday. The Blue Jays are fighting for an AL wild-card spot and winning at least two of three against Tampa Bay would go a long way toward securing that goal.

Cubs at Brewers: The Cubs just finished a tough series against Atlanta and have lost nine times in September in games in which they led. The Brewers have won the NL Central.

Marlins at Pirates: The Marlins have been playing roughly .500 ball for the better part of a month. They'll need a big weekend against the Pirates — possibly a sweep — to have a chance at making the postseason.

Reds at Cardinals: The surprising Reds have been sliding some in recent weeks. They'll likely need a sweep over the Cardinals to have much of a shot at sneaking into the postseason.