Blue Jays fail to provide Chris Bassitt run support as Tigers win

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The third time should have been the charm for the Blue Jays’ newest arm, Chris Bassitt.

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But on Thursday night, there would be more harm against the seemingly harmless Detroit Tigers.

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Bassitt pieced together a decent effort in his home debut Thursday, but wasn’t provided with much run support, particularly in moments when the Jays were poised to score. He left the game following six innings and his team posting one run.

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The Jays have shown a knack for coming back by fashioning some late-inning magic, much as they did one night earlier. However, there were no late-game dramatics in the series finale as Detroit managed to avoid a sweep with a 3-1 win.

The winning margin could have been more had the Tigers been more opportunistic at the dish.

Bassitt, more or less, was doomed when Toronto’s offence went south.

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As he did in Anaheim during his second start as a Blue Jay, Bassitt gave his team a chance to win. Through five innings, the right-hander gave up two earned runs on four hits, while striking out five and walking three. He also produced a season-high seven strikeouts.

In his Jays debut, he didn’t give his new team much, if any, of a chance, but he has progressed, even though the results don’t show for it. He is now 1-2.

“Velo is up, the sharpness was there,’’ said Bassitt following Thursday’s game, adding that his mechanics are more in sync to where they should be.

PitchCom was an issue in Anaheim when Bassitt began the game by violating the clock.

“That will never be an issue,’’ he said. “We’re good there.”

This was Bassitt’s first start in front of the local audience. He said he felt good and drew added motivation when watching fans revel in the atmosphere so close to the bullpen.

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“That gives you juice,’’ he said. “The fans being all over you. I like that a lot.”

He has no objections to the hijinks of the fans and even admitted he’d be doing the same thing if he were watching the game as a fan.

Manager John Schneider felt his starter pitched pretty much the same way as he did against the Angels in Anaheim, when Bo Bichette came up big late in the game to give him his first win.

“I thought his stuff was better, velo was better,’’ said Schneider. “Like in Anaheim, he limited the damage. It’s more of what we expect.”

The Jays’ lone run came in the third inning when Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s sharp single scored Cavan Biggio, tying the game 1-1.

Toronto’s final chance to pull off yet another comeback win arrived in its final at-bats. Alex Lange was on the mound for the Tigers, who entered the night with just two wins on the young season. The righty faced the bottom third of Toronto’s lineup and retired the side to earn the save.

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GOING VIRAL

A viral illness struck hot-hitting Matt Chapman, forcing the Jays to make a last-minute change to their lineup.

For those unaware of the team’s early season fortunes and at times misfortunes, Chapman has been as hot as Toronto’s recent weather.

In fact, he has hit in 11 of the team’s 12 games going into Thursday night, an early-season stretch that has seen Chapman produce eight multi-hit games, including the past four in a row.

Without Chapman, the Jays had Santiago Espinal at the hot corner for the second game in succession.

The bottom of Toronto’s lineup featured Whit Merrifield in the No. 7 hole followed by Espinal and Cavan Biggio batting ninth.

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TOUCH OF CLASS

Future first ballot hall of famer Miguel Cabrera was acknowledged by the Blue Jays prior to opening pitch.

The fans showed their respect by showering Cabrera with well-earned applause.

Cabrera is calling it a career, meaning Detroit’s visit to Toronto marked the final appearance for Cabrera at Rogers Centre.

He hit his 500th career homer in Toronto two years ago.

Cabrera was given a framed photo of the occasion by the Jays.

Presenting the photo was Vlad Jr.

In the team’s home opener Tuesday night, Vlad Jr. caught the ceremonial pitch tossed by Fred McGriff.

A day later, Vlad Jr. caught a ceremonial pitch from Pedro Martinez.

BLUNDER BY BAEZ

The Tigers have not been good to start the season and don’t figure to be for the balance of the season.

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It’s one thing when an opposing team earns its win, quite another when wins are gift-wrapped.

The Tigers have shown a propensity for making errors on the base path.

Along comes Thursday night’s mishap and the alarm bells grow louder.

After he came close to hitting a homer to left, a rocket that hit off the top of the wall that barely eluded Whit Merrifield’s glove, shortstop Javier Baez, who batted sixth in the Tigers order, stood on second base in the second inning.

For reasons that defy credulity, Baez casually ran to third on a routine fly ball and even rounded the bag.

One problem — the inning wasn’t over. There was only one out. It was yet another mental mistake produced by the Tigers, who continue to reinvent the term.

In the home half of the fourth, second baseman Zach McKinstry misplayed a routine grounder that would have ended the inning. Instead, the Jays had runners at the corner. Detroit dodged the bullet on a groundout to first.

McKinstry then made amends for his glove gaffe by stroking a double to score Akil Baddoo in the top of the fifth inning to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com