Bassitt in form, Guerrero homers as Blue Jays beat Braves 3-1 in rubber game

Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) throws to an Atlanta Braves batter in the first inning of interleague baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker

TORONTO — Toronto starter Chris Bassitt threw five shutout innings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first homer of the season to help the Blue Jays to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Bassitt (2-0) allowed three hits, two walks and had 10 strikeouts over a 90-pitch outing.

Guerrero drove in Bo Bichette with a single in the third inning and hit a no-doubt solo shot off Braves starter Spencer Strider in the sixth.

Brendon Little, Nick Sandlin, Yimi Garcia and Jeff Hoffman pitched in relief as Toronto took the rubber game of the three-game interleague series.

Hoffman gave up a solo homer to Drake Baldwin before completing his fourth save.

Atlanta (5-13) threatened in the fifth inning with runners at second and third but Bassitt fanned Michael Harris II and Austin Riley to keep the Braves off the board.

Strider (0-1) made his season debut after being activated from the injured list before the game. He missed most of the 2024 season while recovering from right elbow surgery.

The right-hander allowed two earned runs and five hits over five-plus innings. Strider led the major leagues in strikeouts (281) in 2023.

The Blue Jays tacked on an insurance run in the seventh inning when Bichette drove in Myles Straw with a double. Toronto (11-8) has won six of its last nine games.

Announced attendance was 25,328 and the game took two hours 43 minutes to play.

Key moment

Bassitt set the early tone by striking out the side in the first inning. He needed 13 pitches to fan Harris, Riley and Matt Olson.

Key stat

It was Bassitt’s eighth career 10-strikeout game. He trimmed his earned-run average from 0.98 to 0.77.

Up next

Both teams are idle Thursday.

The Blue Jays will kick off a three-game weekend series against the visiting Seattle Mariners. The Braves will return home to face the Minnesota Twins.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025.