Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Though Mets co-aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer have garnered most of the headlines lately–and with good reason, after Scherzer and deGrom just dominated the second-place Atlanta Braves during a memorable weekend at Citi Field–it is the steady contributions of guys like Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker who have kept the Mets in first place for the majority of the season.

Among the “rest” of the Mets’ sterling starting rotation, Bassitt may just be the arm who emerges as the most dependable third option behind deGrom and Scherzer come October.

Bassitt showed his mettle once again on Monday night at Citi Field, battling through traffic on the bases all night to fire eight strong innings against a Cincinnati Reds team that has played surprisingly well of late.

After cruising during his first turn through the Reds’ order, allowing only a single baserunner in that span, Bassitt was in constant trouble the rest of the night. An error by Pete Alonso led to a Reds’ threat in the fourth inning that would yield their only run of the game–an unearned one. The Reds then parlayed a cavalcade of soft contact, infield hits, and even a catcher’s interference call to constant traffic on the base paths in the mid-to-late innings.

In fact, with the Mets nursing a small 3-1 lead until the bottom of the eighth inning, the Reds had the tying runs on base in each of the fourth through seventh innings, but Bassitt sidestepped trouble at every turn to maintain the Mets’ lead in a game they would never trail.

In all Bassitt threw 114 pitches in his eight innings, giving a much-needed night off to almost all of the key arms in the Mets’ bullpen. Bassitt scattered eight hits, one walk, one hit batsmen, and that catcher’s interference baserunner across his eight innings. Bassitt allowed only one unearned run and struck out eight Reds batters on the night.

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As usual, Bassitt recorded key outs by mixing his considerable arsenal of pitches. Bassitt threw 48 sinkers, 21 cutters, 20 curveballs, 16 sliders, 8 four-seam fastballs, and a changeup among his 114 pitches on the night. The 20 curveballs, in particular, stick out on a night where Bassitt threw the kitchen sink at a Reds’ lineup hell-bent on making the veteran right-hander work hard.

Bassitt’s 114 pitches were a season-high, and his start marked only the second time a Mets starting pitcher completed eight innings this season (Carlos Carrasco did it in May against the Braves.) Moreover, Bassitt, the Mets’ under-the-radar workhorse, now has the five-highest pitch totals of any Mets starter in 2022.

Bassitt has now gone six or more innings in nine consecutive starts and 17 of 21 starts on the season, effectively eating innings for a team that has needed as many as he could give them. Moreover, after a May-early June swoon, Bassitt has a 2.19 ERA in 61 2/3 innings since June 14. Monday’s start lowered his season ERA to an impressive 3.39 and improved his record to 9-7.

After the game, manager Buck Showalter said that Bassitt showed “moxie” on Monday night, before saying that he is “such a competitive guy… with a good feel” that is “hard to describe.”

Showalter noted that Bassitt has generally been “able to hold his stuff,” and noted his “good delivery and strength” as factors that have led to him feeling comfortable pushing Bassitt this season.

For his part, Bassitt noted that “being in the (strike) zone” was key to his ability to give the team length. He noted that “everyone’s role is different” on the team, and he views his as “to eat innings,” and that his start on Monday night was no different. Bassitt said that “he is not afraid” and “confident” to go over 100 pitches, noting that his conditioning is a point of pride.

For the Mets, Scherzer and deGrom might grab all the headlines. But if this team gets to where it wants to go, it is likely that their somewhat unheralded workhorse has a big hand in it.