Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, Chris Bassitt struggled mightily. In San Diego, he lasted just 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs (six earned). Just a few weeks earlier in San Francisco, Bassitt went 4 1/3 frames, that time allowing eight runs on eight hits, including walking three batters and allowing three homers.

After the most recent rough outing at Petco Park, Bassitt needed a bounce-back start. And boy did he deliver. Over eight shutout innings in the Mets return to Citi Field, Bassitt put together his best start of his brief Mets career. He allowed a mere three hits – none of which went for extra bases – and walked just one batter.  His seven punchouts were just one short of matching a season-high.

While the Brewers are slumping as of late (1-9 over their last 10 games), they still sit at 34-29 and just 2.5 games out of first place in the NL Central. Their lineup also features two former NL MVPs in Christian Yelich and Andrew McCutchen, who went a combined 1-for-6 against Bassitt with three strikeouts on Tuesday evening.

Bassitt mixed up his pitches very well, throwing the following offerings throughout the game: sinker (37 times), curveball (19), four-seam fastball (16), cutter (15), slider (15), and changeup (7). The first four of those pitches were whiffed at at least three times each, while each of his six-pitch types led to a 20% or better-called strike + whiff percentage.

With a difference of 24.8 miles per hour between his fastest and slowest pitch on the night, it’s no surprise that Bassitt had hitters on the fence all game.

Bassitt credited teammate Mark Canha for helping him turn things around against the Brewers. Bassitt and Canha were teammates for multiple seasons on the Oakland Athletics.

“He’s seen me the most by far out of everybody,” Bassitt said. “It was moreso just like, ‘You’re not pitching like yourself at all.’ So I just broke down everything.”

Bassitt also credited catcher Tomas Nido. The righty and catcher were able to get on the same page early in the count. It was “freeing” for Bassitt to have so much chemistry with Nido and said he called an “unbelievable game.”

After 13 starts this year, Bassitt’s ERA is back down to a respectable 3.89. Despite the strong start against Milwaukee, his season ERA+ of 103 is still his lowest since 2016, when he finished the disappointing year with a mark of just 68.

“We’ve seen the level he’s capable of pitching at, Buck Showalter said. “I know how frustrating it’s been for him here lately, but guys like him you just trust the moxie, and they want-to they have. They figure it out and make the adjustments.”