Blue Jays' Chris Bassitt Reached Career Milestone Thanks to MLB Pitch Clock

Mike McDaniel | May 18, 2024

May 17, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jas starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) delivers / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt recorded strikeout No. 900 of his career on Friday night in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, and if Bassitt ever thought about reaching this milestone, it's likely he didn't think he'd do it in the fashion that he did.

In the top of the third inning with no score, Bassitt was getting ready to deal a payoff pitch on a 3-2 count to Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt. With the pitch clock dwindling inside 10 seconds, Rortvedt asked for a timeout from the home plate umpire. Instead, Rortvedt was called for a pitch clock violation, and since there were two strikes on him, the at-bat was ruled a strikeout.

Chris Bassitt just recorded his 900th career strikeout on a pitch clock violation pic.twitter.com/xQl7qjNmHp

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 18, 2024

Rortvedt argued the call briefly before walking back to the dugout, while Bassitt reached a career milestone in a very unlikely fashion.

Tampa Bay ultimately got the best of Bassitt though. The Rays tagged him for three earned runs over 5.2 innings of work as Tampa Bay beat Toronto 4-3.

Bassitt is now 3-6 on the season with a 5.03 ERA.