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JUPITER, Fla. — After cruising through a minor league intrasquad matchup last week, Chris Bassitt mostly made the Marlins look like minor leaguers Tuesday night.
In his Grapefruit League debut, the Mets’ projected No. 3 starter threw 4 ²/₃ shutout innings while allowing four hits and no walks in a 10-0 win at Roger Dean Stadium.
The March 12 acquisition from the A’s tossed 69 pitches (48 strikes) and should be ready, before a tuneup, for about six innings of work as he is expected to follow Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer in the Mets’ opening series in Washington.
“He’s in a good spot right now, knock on wood,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He’s got a lot of different looks, a lot of shapes to the same pitch, and he’s got a lot of imagination as a pitcher.”
Bassitt allowed two hits in his first three innings, then got into trouble in the fourth following a long break when the Mets scored four runs.
The Marlins put runners on second and third with one out, but Bassitt struck out Lorenzo Quintana and induced a ground out from Willians Astudillo.
In stressful situations, “Don’t throw hard, just execute,” Bassitt said. “I think Greg Maddux said that, and it freed me up big time.”
Bassitt, who operates with more guile than the Mets’ top two aces, had a good slider working and also threw two different fastballs, a slider, curveball, changeup and cutter — the cutter was his one complaint from the outing.
“I love his mentality,” said catcher James McCann. “I love his approach to the game, and then obviously the stuff you know is good.”
McCann caught three innings in his first game since March 20 and felt good in his return from back stiffness.
The catcher went 1-for-3 with a double — which he was pleased he legged out — and two strikeouts. He threw down to second and blocked balls in the dirt, which were other acts he wanted to check off.
Next on the list to be ready for Opening Day is ensuring he catches each pitcher, playing back-to-back days and compiling more at-bats.
“That’s the challenge of the next week,” said McCann, who has gotten five game at-bats. “I’ll be able to go over to the back fields and take multiple at-bats.”
The Mets claimed righty Yoan López off waivers from the Marlins and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. They placed lefty Joey Lucchesi, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day injured list as the corresponding move.
Lopez had been claimed and then quickly designated for assignment by Miami, which was trying to sneak him through waivers. The 29-year-old appeared in 13 games last season with the Diamondbacks and has a 4.25 ERA in four seasons.
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