TORONTO (AP) — Chris Bassitt pitched 6 1/3 innings before leaving because of a sore lower back, Cavan Biggio hit a three-run home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Monday night.
Bassitt (3-2) called manager John Schneider and the trainer to the mound in the seventh after bouncing his first pitch to Luis Robert Jr. Zach Pop came on and finished the inning.
Afterward, Bassitt said he’d felt sore warming up in the bullpen but insisted his back was fine.
“I never felt any threat of an injury the whole game,” he said. “Won’t even miss a bullpen session.”
Robert made a spectacular catch in center field to take a home run away from Toronto slugger Matt Chapman, but little else went right for the struggling White Sox. Chicago (7-16) has lost five straight, 10 of 12 and 13 of 17.
“We’ve got to get through it,” White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. “Baseball is tough. There’s going to be streaks where not everything is clicking. We’re kind of going through that right now.”
Bassitt signed a three-year, $63 million contract with Toronto last December. He allowed two runs and three hits to win back-to-back starts for the first time with the Blue Jays.
“He was mixing pitches, mixing speeds,” Vaughn said. “His curveball, he was locating it really well.”
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said he wanted his team to be more selective at the plate.
“From my angle, it looked like we chased quite a bit,” Grifol said.
Pop got four outs and Tim Mayza struck out pinch hitter Gavin Sheets to strand a runner at first base for the final out of the eighth. Jordan Romano finished for his eighth save in nine chances.
Vaughn opened the scoring with a two-run double off Bassitt in the third, but the Blue Jays answered with a four-run fourth off White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn.
Robert soared over the low wall in deep center to deny Chapman for the second out of the inning, but the next five Blue Jays batters reached safely. Whit Merrifield hit an RBI double before Biggio followed with his second home run.
Winless in five starts to begin the season, Lynn (0-3) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings.
Lynn had little to say about his performance, but was most upset about walking Alejandro Kirk to spark Toronto’s fourth-inning rally.
“Two out walks, they’ll kill you,” Lynn said.
Chapman made it 5-2 with an RBI double off Kenyan Middleton in the seventh. It was Chapman’s AL-leading 11th double of the season. Chapman leads the AL with 16 extra-base hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: SS Tim Anderson (sprained left knee) took grounders without his knee brace. … Chicago activated right-hander Joe Kelly (strained right groin) off the 15-day injured list and put RHP Lucas Giolito on the bereavement list. Manager Pedro Grifol said Giolito is expected to make his next start. Giolito started Sunday’s loss at Tampa Bay.
Blue Jays: Put RHP Adam Cimber on the 15-day injured list because of a strained muscle in his upper back and recalled RHP Nate Pearson from Triple-A Buffalo.
NUMBERS GAME
Lynn’s outing actually lowered his ERA slightly. It dropped from 7.59 to 7.52.
HIT LIKE WHIT
Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He has reached base safely in all 17 games he’s played this season.
UP NEXT
RHP Mike Clevinger (2-3, 3.26) starts for the White Sox Tuesday against Blue Jays RHP José Berríos (1-3, 6.23).
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Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
