Chris Bassitt's turnaround has helped him become the Blue Jays' most valuable starter

It's getting a little rough out there for Toronto Blue Jays fans, with the ball club seemingly hurtling from one disaster to the next. The latest such disaster saw them lose a seemingly un-loseable game on Monday night, as they gave up a 6-2 lead to the Boston Red Sox and ultimately fell to an agonizing 7-6 defeat.

As a result, the Blue Jays saw their losing streak increase to a season-worst seven games, with their record falling to 35-43. They're rooted to the bottom of the AL East, 16 games behind the division-leading New York Yankees as of Tuesday morning and 7.5 games back of the last wild card spot in the American League.

There's very little for Blue Jays fans to cheer about right now. However, as painful as Monday night's loss at Fenway Park was, it did highlight one of the few positives on this team right now.

The very definition of consistency

We're specifically referring to Chris Bassitt, who pitched one hell of a game versus the Red Sox. He went 7.0 innings, allowing just five hits, one walk and two earned runs, leaving the game and his team in a (more than) winning position.

The outing highlighted just how tremendous Bassitt has been of late in his past seven starts, of particular importance given the overall struggles of the rotation. During this time he has allowed just eight earned runs in 43 combined innings, resulting in his ERA dropping from 5.03 all the way down to 3.45.

The 35-year-old is proving that age really is just a number, with him second among all Blue Jays pitchers in WAR and quality starts, while also being tied for the team lead with six wins. In fact he would be leading the way in wins, if it wasn't for his team's aforementioned struggles.

Aside from Monday night's team capitulation, consider a couple of Bassitt's recent other starts in Oakland and Milwaukee. He allowed just one run in eight innings against the Athletics in a 2-1 loss, while going five innings of scoreless action in a 5-4 defeat to the Brewers.

Even Bassitt doesn't have the solution for the Blue Jays

There's only so much you can do as a pitcher, if you're not getting enough decent help from your teammates as a collective. In this respect, even the 2021 All-Star is not sure what the team can do to get out of their funk.

Consider the blunt assessment from Bassitt last month, when Keegan Matheson of MLB.com asked him about the season. He simply said: "Struggling" and after a follow-up question asking what needs to change, he said: "If you have that answer, let us know."

Considering all the uncertainty and mayhem around him, Bassitt deserves credit for continuing to remain focused and professional, while delivering consistent performances on the mound. In fairness though, you wouldn't expect anything else from someone who has been dependable and durable throughout his time in Toronto so far.

After signing a three-year, $63M deal with the Blue Jays, the Toledo, Ohio native went on to excel during the 2023 season. He led all pitchers with 21 quality starts, tied for the AL lead with a career-high 16 wins, reached 200 innings for the first time in his Major League career and overall excelled in his first season in Canada.

Bassitt continues to be a credit to the Blue Jays and their fan base. If some of his teammates can find a way to adopt his attitude and approach, maybe ... just maybe ... there's still some hope for this season.