Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images. Pictured: Chris Bassitt.
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt left his start on Tuesday in the second inning after taking a line drive to the head.
The ball came off the bat of Chicago White Sox hitter Brian Goodwin with an exit velocity of over 100 mph. Bassitt fell to the ground before covering his face. He was immediately attended to with a towel covering his face before he was helped up and carted off the field.
The play loaded the bases with no outs in the inning. Burch Smith replaced Bassitt on the mound. The White Sox scored five in the inning to take a 5-0 lead.
Bassitt has been Oakland’s best pitcher this season with a 12-3 record, 3.06 ERA and 3.5 WAR in 24 starts covering 150 innings entering Tuesday’s game. Any prolonged absence would be a major loss to Oakland’s rotation.
Bassitt came into Tuesday’s game fifth on the AL Cy Young oddsboard at PointsBet at +2500. He trailed Lance Lynn (-150), Gerrit Cole (+200), Carlos Rodon (+650) and Robbie Ray (+1300) and was just ahead of teammate Sean Manaea (+4000).
Oakland trailed Houston by 2 1/2 games in the AL West before play began on Tuesday. If the postseason started on Tuesday, Oakland would be the top wild card team in the American League by percentage points over the Boston Red Sox. However, the Yankees are just one game back. The Toronto Blue Jays are four games back with the Seattle Mariners hanging around five games back.