Chris Bassitt Exits After 3 Innings With Back Tightness

Chris Bassitt left the Orioles’ 8-1 loss after three innings last night because of lower back tightness, ending a short outing that was already his shortest since April 5. Baltimore was down to 10 players on the injured list, and the exit added another problem to a rotation that had already been working through strain.

Bassitt’s third inning exit

He was removed in the bottom of the third inning after feeling the tightness and wanted to keep pitching, but the club pulled him from the game. Bassitt allowed three runs in three innings before leaving.

Craig Albernaz said Bassitt “felt some lower back tightness” after the right-hander came out, and Bassitt later said, “I wasn’t going to get into it but confirmed that it was his back.” The sequence left Baltimore to finish the game without the starter who had handled the final appearance of the previous month.

Orioles turn to Albert Suárez

Albert Suárez entered in the fourth inning once Bassitt was out. The change came after a game in which the Orioles had already fallen behind, and the pitching plan shifted again with the deficit still growing.

Bassitt’s previous start had gone six innings and limited the Blue Jays to one run, a cleaner line that had lowered his ERA from 5.91 after his first start in May to 5.06 by the end of the month. That makes the early removal more notable for Baltimore, which had just one more option to absorb the inning gap.

Orioles take 8-1 loss

The Orioles lost 8-1, leaving Bassitt’s outing as the most immediate pitching development in a game that had already moved away from them. Craig Albernaz also said, “In real time, I’ve never seen that before,” after Red Sox interim third base coach Chad Epperson moved onto the infield grass.

For Baltimore, the short start and the result sit together: Bassitt could not finish through the third, and the club came out of the night with another arm issue to manage while the injured list stayed at 10 players.