Bassitt has strong outing in win over Mariners

Second verse, same as the first.

The Blue Jays rode 62⁄3 spectacular innings from their starting pitcher and some timely hitting to a win over the visiting Seattle Mariners, just as they did in their home opener Monday. The final Tuesday was 5-3.

Chris Bassitt was the starter who delivered the goods in getting the Jays back to .500 at 6-6 on the young season, taking a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning before allowing a solo home run to Dominic Canzone. The right-hander walked four, struck out eight and shaved nearly three runs from what had been a bloated 7.71 ERA to start the game, dropping it down to 5.07.

There were contributions up and down the Jays lineup. George Springer had a pair of RBI singles from the leadoff spot and Bo Bichette, hitting third, blasted his first home run of the season — a tworun rocket into the 200 level in left field.

Cleanup hitter Justin Turner collected a pair of hits and a walk as the top four hitters in the order collected five hits among them. The bottom four hitters put together half a dozen, led by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had a couple of singles and a double, lifting his batting average to .313.

The at-bat of the game came in the third, with Springer at the plate and Daulton Varsho at first. Springer fouled off eight straight offerings from George Kirby, the last four of them with Varsho on the move, having already drawn two pickoff throws. The rattled Seattle righty threw over to first a third time and didn’t get Varsho, which is a balk under the new disengagement rule, moving the runner to second.

Springer lined the next pitch back up the middle for the first of his run-scoring singles to open the scoring, and Bichette followed with his mammoth shot two batters later.

Mitch Haniger tightened things up with a two-out, two-run homer off Trevor Richards in the eighth, but Chad Green came in to get the final four outs for his second save.