Ace in hole: Chris Bassitt was one of the game’s best pitchers this month.
Chris Bassitt’s first career postseason start in the big leagues will come with the Oakland A’s season on the line.
But with the A’s on the verge of yet another early playoff exit, maybe Bassitt is the perfect pitcher to extend Oakland’s season.
Bassitt, 31, has been almost flawless this month but will likely need another standout performance today when the A’s look to even their first-round series with the Chicago White Sox and force a Game 3 on Thursday.
Tuesday, the White Sox hit three home runs and starting pitcher Lucas Giolito allowed just two hits over seven innings to hand the A’s a 4-1 loss, their sixth straight postseason defeat dating back to 2013. The A’s have not won a playoff series since 2006.
Bassitt (5-2, 2.29) will duel White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel (6-2, 1.99), who has been stellar in September with a 1-0 record and 0.45 ERA in four starts.
“We need to go out there and win (Wednesday), and we feel our best shot is with him at this point,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Bassitt. “At least the way he’s pitched recently and probably consistently over the course of the season.”
Bassitt was named the American League’s Pitcher of the Month on Monday after he went 3-0 with a 0.34 ERA (one earned run in 26.2 innings) with 25 strikeouts in four starts.
Bassitt knows that won’t count for much today.
“Take all the numbers, even take my numbers, and throw them out the window. They don’t mean a damn thing,” Bassitt said Tuesday morning. “I don’t care what you did in the regular season. I don’t care if you batted 400, I don’t care. For me, I don’t care how good a month I had in September, it don’t mean a single thing.
“If you have a bad game, you’re going home.”
Bassitt threw seven shutout innings in his last start, Friday against the Seattle Mariners. He has allowed two runs or less in eight of his 11 starts this season.
Keuchel will be making his 13th postseason appearance and his 12th start. The 2015
AL Cy Young Award winner won World Series with the Houston Astros three years ago and has a 4-2 career playoff record with a 3.47 ERA in 59.2 innings.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Giolito said of Game 2.
Bassitt carries an active scoreless streak at home of 24.1 innings, which began in the third inning Aug. 22nd against the Angels.
WENDELKEN RETURNS >> J.B. Wendelken’s return from the injured list was one of the few A’s bright spots Tuesday. Wendelken made his postseason debut with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Jesús Luzardo after he entered the game in the fourth inning with one out and Adam Engel on second base.
“I felt good about it. I felt everything was working and my job is to get the boys back in (the dugout) so we can get some runs,” said Wendelken, who did not wish to disclose why he had been on the injured list.
The A’s bullpen allowed one run in 5.2 innings after they gave up just one in seven innings in last year’s wild card game with Tampa Bay.
ANDERSON SHINES >> Tim Anderson went 3 for 4 on Tuesday after he went 3 for 33 (.091) over his final eight regular-season games. He became the first player to get at least three hits in his postseason debut since the 2017 National League wild card game when Jake Lamb, David Peralta and Ketel Marte did it for Arizona. Lamb had four hits in Arizona’s 11- 8 win over Colorado.
STARTERS MAKE ROSTER >> The roster will carry all six of the A’s starters, including Sean Manaea, Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas and Mike Minor.
A LITTLE HISTORY >> The late Roy Halladay of the Phillies in 2010 threw a perfect game in the regular season and then tossed a no-hitter against the Reds in the playoffs — the only person to have a regular-season and postseason no-hitter the same year.
Halladay and Don Larsen, who pitched a perfect game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series against Brooklyn, have the only two postseason no-hitters.