TORONTO — Surprise, surprise: The Atlanta Braves and their powerful lineup were saddled with a rare shutout, and the Toronto Blue Jays needed just one arm to do it.
Chris Bassitt pitched a two-hitter, and Daulton Varsho hit a solo home run as Toronto beat Atlanta 3-0 on Friday night to open a three-game interleague series. It was the second shutout of Bassitt’s MLB career and the first by a single pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays in almost eight years.
The shutout was Toronto’s sixth overall this season. The Braves were held scoreless for just the second time this season, having also lost 1-0 to the host San Diego Padres on April 19.
Bassitt (5-2), though, frustrated Atlanta’s bats with relative ease as he extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-high 20. He struck out eight batters and walked two in the Blue Jays’ first individual shutout since Mark Buehrle accomplished the feat against the Washington Nationals on June 3, 2015.
“It just felt like he was in complete control of everything he threw,” Blue Jays outfielder George Springer said of Bassitt, who threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes to win his fourth straight decision.