Mickey Togs

Chris Bassitt was worthy of a gold star for his effectiveness and yet another for longevity Monday night. 

The Mets had utilized their bullpen plenty in playing five games over  four days against the Braves, and extra rest for that group was a commodity, even a day after many of manager Buck Showalter’s top options remained idle. 

Bassitt emerged with eight strong innings that led a 5-1 victory over the Reds at Citi Field. The Mets won for the sixth time in seven games and widened their NL East lead on the Braves to seven games. 

Already at 95 pitches, Bassitt was entrusted the eighth and struck out potential tying run Aristides Aquino after allowing a two-out single to Jake Fraley. Bassitt threw a season-high 114 pitches in allowing one unearned run on eight hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. 

“I think genuinely that is why they brought me over here was for that  reason: I am not afraid to go over 100 pitches,” Bassitt said. “I am confident going past 100 and I don’t think my stuff declines.” 

After a miserable few days in St. Louis, the Yankees got back to winning, snapping their season-high five-game losing streak with a 9-4 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. 

But it came with a cost, as Matt Carpenter suffered a fractured left foot in the first inning and could be lost for the season. 

Against Seattle, they had enough to overcome Carpenter’s absence, as Josh Donaldson had four hits — including a two-run single in the first and a solo homer in the third — and Aaron Judge crushed his 44th homer of the season. 

Jameson Taillon continued his pattern of being good every other start, as he gave up three runs in seven innings. 

It came after the team was swept by the Cardinals, with their new top-of-the-rotation pitcher, Frankie Montas, getting hit hard on Sunday and their lead in the AL East had dropped into single digits for the first time since June 15. 

Strong starting pitching from David Peterson and Max Scherzer, plus standout offensive performances by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, fueled the Mets to a doubleheader sweep of the Braves on a steamy Saturday at Citi Field, clinching the pivotal series victory.

After Lindor and Peterson led the way to an 8-5 win in Game 1, Scherzer dominated in the nightcap, with Alonso driving the offense in a 6-2 victory.

With the sweep, the Mets (69-39) took three of the first four games of the series and pushed their lead atop the NL East to 5 ½ games over the Braves (64-45). That marks their largest lead since June 21, and they have a chance to put an exclamation point on the series on Sunday.

“This is what you play the game for,” said Scherzer, who struck out 11 over seven shutout innings on a season-high 108 pitches. “You play to face the best. Especially deep in the season, you grind it out here in the NL East. You face so many tough opponents that you want to go out there and match it and beat them. So it’s rewarding when that happens.”