What is up with the home and road splits of Blue Jays' starter Chris Bassitt?

Chris Bassitt has had a confusing season. The 36 year-old right hander has put up the stats you'd typically see of a number 4-5 guy in a good rotation. He's been worth 1.5 bWAR throwing 144 innings this season with 142 strikeouts, a 1.337 WHIP and 4.18 ERA. However, his splits have been incredibly drastic that you'd think Bassitt was a completely different person depending on where he has been pitching.

In Toronto, Bassitt has pitched like an ace. He's 8-0 in 14 starts with a 2.73 ERA. He has 88 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched, holding batters to a .244 batting average against and .309 OBP. But on the road, it's been a different story. He owns a 6.10 ERA in 13 games (12 starts). In those outings, Bassitt has allowed 42 earned runs in 62 innings pitched with only 54 strikeouts. His opponents are batting .295 with a .351 OBP against him on the road.

What is up with the home and road splits of Blue Jays' starter Chris Bassitt?

Not great peripheral numbers, but when you break it down even further, Bassitt has actually been pretty consistent outside of three bad outings that ballooned those numbers (sorted below by most earned runs).

Those outings were by far his worst of the season. In the other nine starts he has made on the road, Bassitt's numbers are much closer in line with what he has been able to accomplish at home. He's pitched into the sixth inning in eight of those nine starts and he's allowed just 23 earned runs over 52 innings for a 3.98 ERA, with 45 strikeouts. He hasn't given up more than four runs in any of those starts, with at least five strikeouts or more in five of those games.

So while the peripheral numbers do look concerning, Bassitt looks poised to give the Blue Jays everything he's got for the stretch run. In four outings so far in August, he's pitched to a 3.80 ERA giving up nine earned runs in 21 innings pitched with 21 strikeouts. He's allowed three earned runs or less in each of those outings with two of those games coming at home and two on the road. Unfortunately for Bassitt, the Blue Jays have managed to score just three runs while he has been on the mound in those 21 innings and they are 1-3 in those four games.

If the Blue Jays feel any concern over his home and road splits, they now have the luxury of having six guys who can start. Shane Bieber is now pitching for the Blue Jays, and they have said that the move to send Eric Lauer to the bullpen is a "fluid decision," meaning they might toy with the idea of not needing Bassitt to make that many more starts on the road down the stretch.