Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park on April 10. Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Toronto Blue Jays Pitchers Make Franchise History in Win Over Atlanta Braves

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 4:05 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon, running their early-season record to 11-8. After finishing last in the American League East a season ago, the Jays are in second place.

The Braves fell to a disappointing 5-13 and they are in last place in the National League East.

The win for Toronto spoiled the first start of the season for Braves' ace Spencer Strider, who made his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery. Strider went 5.0 innings, surrendering five hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out five.

On the other side, Jays' pitching was dominant, combining for a team record 19 strikeouts. Chris Bassitt had 10 over 5.0 innings and four relievers combined for the other nine. Jeff Hoffman earned his fourth save.

Blue Jays struck out 19 hitters today – that's the most in franchise history.

Bassitt: 10, Little: 3, Sandlin: 1, Yimi Garcia: 4, Hoffman: 1
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) April 16, 2025

By moving to 2-0 on the year, Bassitt lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.77. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first homer of the season as well. Anthony Santander and Bo Bichette each had doubles, with Bichette registering two.

The Blue Jays will be off on Thursday before starting a new weekend series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. ET that day at Rogers Centre. It will be shown on Apple TV.

The Mariners will play the Cincinnati Reds again on Wednesday and then on Thursday afternoon before heading north. The M's have not announced a starter yet for Friday while the Jays will go with Bowden Francis.

He's 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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