OAKLAND -- It's not unusual for Chris Bassitt to act loose before his starts. But the right-hander took it to another level prior to the Mets' series opener in his old stomping grounds, taking the field pregame at the Oakland Coliseum to exchange hugs and jaw away with his former teammates.
Don't be fooled by Bassitt's easygoing demeanor, Mets manager Buck Showalter warned. Bassitt may seem relaxed on his start days, but don't mistake that for a lack of focus. No matter how he comes across, he is always locked in before taking the mound.
"I try not to take this game too seriously and just understand the job at hand," Bassitt said, "and basically just try to make it the best of my ability to have a good day that day."
That approach proved effective on Friday night. Making his first start against the A's since being traded to the Mets in March, Bassitt dominated his former team en route to a 9-2 win. New York has now won seven of its last eight games, building critical momentum in the final days of the regular season.
With the Braves' blowout loss to the Phillies on Friday night, the Mets now hold a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East, their largest lead since Sept. 2. New York's magic number to clinch the division now sits at nine.
The Mets wouldn't be one step closer to the NL East crown without Bassitt's commanding performance. The right-hander matched a season high by going eight innings on 91 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk.
“That’s vintage Bassitt right there," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "Overall, two strikeouts on the night and a ton of weak contact ground balls. … He did his job, keeping the ball down at the bottom of the zone. Tough night offensively to get anything going.”
Bassitt was strikingly efficient, facing two over the minimum through six innings. But he lost a bit of sharpness in his final two frames, allowing an RBI single to former teammate Seth Brown in the seventh and a solo home run to rookie Dermis Garcia in the eighth.
Bragging rights aside, Brown was complimentary of Bassitt's night on the mound.
“His stuff is obviously top-notch. His ability to pitch with his stuff is tough to battle," Brown said. "To me especially, he just painted the corners inside. He has a plan with every hitter. He’s not scared of anybody.”
Though he's no longer with the A's, Bassitt's success at the Oakland Coliseum continued. Entering the game, the veteran owned a career 2.44 ERA in 46 games (40 starts) at the A's home ballpark, which ranked fourth all-time among pitchers with a minimum of 15 starts there.
"I really like this ballpark, just in the aspect that I feel like a lot of guys don't, around the league," Bassitt said. "If you don't like being in a spot, I think it's kind of a big advantage if I do like being there."
Bassitt's gem was backed by a strong performance from the New York lineup. After being held to just four hits and getting shut out for just the eighth time this season in their previous game in Milwaukee, the Mets erupted for 13 hits on Friday.
Pete Alonso was the first Mets player to cross the plate, tallying his 500th career hit with a second-inning single before scoring on Mark Vientos’ RBI single. Jeff McNeil also had a big night, going 3-for-5 and scoring twice. But it was Eduardo Escobar's first career grand slam that put New York over the top, igniting a five-run fifth inning that knocked Oakland left-hander Cole Irvin out of the game.
Looking back at the entire 2022 campaign, Escobar has not quite performed up to his own standards -- but he is finally heating up at the right time. His power has returned with a vengeance in September, as he now has 11 extra-base hits in 21 games this month.
That's one more bat that will make the Mets' lineup deep and dangerous as October approaches.
"I'm happy that I'm able to contribute, but when you look at our lineup from one through nine, we're all able to contribute," Escobar said via team interpreter Alan Suriel. "It's nice that I'm able to do my part, but it's not just me. We're a tight-knit group … so when it's not me, it's going to be somebody else. I'm excited that we're able to go out there and win games like this."