Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Bassitt had an ugly outing Monday night, but the resilient righty, who’s had a big hand in the team being atop the NL East has been nothing but a breath of fresh air in manager Buck Showalter‘s starting line-up.

Up until tonight’s game, the Mets had won each of Bassitt’s last eight starts. He was 4-0 in August with a 1.65 ERA – never giving up a long ball the entire month. Chalk it up to him having a bad day at the office. Who hasn’t?

Position players had a tough time, as well, stranding 10 runners against rookie right-hander Javier Assad – twice with the bases loaded. Mark Canha left the bags full in the first, striking out on four pitches while looking at the last three. It’s times like these I wish the Mets could’ve transferred some runs from their last two games, like college students taking their credits when leaving one college for another.

The Cubs drew first blood off of Bassitt in the top of the second. After retiring Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom on fly balls to center, Bassitt lost Rafael Ortega on a 0-2 count, sending the former Oakland Athletics’ 80 mph slider into the right field seats.

New York was much ado about nothing in the bottom frame. Assad erased Eduardo Escobar on a fly ball to center, fanned Tyler Naquin with his 85 MPH curve and shut the door on James McCann with a fly out to right on a 92 MPH sinker.

Bassitt gave leadoff hitter Alfonso Rivas a free pass after a 0-2 count, struck out Christopher Morel on three pitches – then surrendered a two-run homer to Zach McKinstry to put himself in a 3-0 hole.

The bottom of the third was much like the second, albeit a walk that went nowhere.

In the top of the fourth, the wheels came off with another leadoff walk to Happ, an errant pickoff attempt by Pete Alonso, that put Happ in scoring position, which he later achieved after landing on third on a groundout, and crossing the plate on Ortega’s RBI single to left. P.J. Higgins moved Ortega to second who crossed the plate for the Cub’s fifth run on Riva’s single to left center.

Assad’s only sign of weakness came in the bottom of the inning when Canha and Escobar reached base on back-to-back singles and James McCann, sandwiched between strikeouts to Naquin and Brandon Nimmo, drove in the first of the Mets two runs.

Tommy Hunter came in relief of Bassitt in the top of the fifth keeping the Cubs at bay, retiring the side in order. Assad followed suit against the Mets.

In the top of the sixth, Trevor May took the baton from Hunter and fanned two out of three with a series of change ups four-seam fastballs and sliders.

With two away in the bottom of the inning, Escobar threatened with triple to deep center, only to be left out to dry when Naquin struck out swinging.

Mychal Givens was another bright spot in relief for the Mets in the seventh, striking out the side on 10 pitches.

Mark Leiter, Jr., former Met Al Leiter’s nephew, stepped in for Assad and did his uncle proud with a 1-2-3 outing – striking out Francisco Lindor on three straight pitches in the process.

Givens kept the Mets in the game the hard way, allowing a pair of singles to start off the eighth, but after Franmil Reyes went down swinging, Seiya Suzuki was caught stealing and Happ, who then walked, remained at second when Wisdom whiffed on a 96 mph four-seamer.

The Mets had a monumental chance in the bottom of the inning to do some serious damage when they loaded the bases with no outs. Jeff McNeil managed an infield single, Alonso banged a base hit to shallow left, Daniel Vogelbach drew a walk and Canha, who crushed his first grand slam two days prior, looking to redeem himself for leaving them loaded in the first, struck out swinging on an 87 mph slider.

With two more attempts to make a dent, Escobar flied out on a 0-2 pitch to center and Darin Ruf, having a rough time at the plate, lined out to right.

Joely Rodriguez matched his fellow relievers in the top of the ninth striking out two of the 6, 7 and 8 hitters, and for the Mets last licks – it was too little too late with two outs when Lindor hit a solo shot to right center – ending on McNeil’s groundout to second.

The good news? Atlanta fell to San Francisco and tonight, Jacob deGrom is on the mound.