Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Ends season on high note
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Gausman (14-11) picked up the win Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over six innings in a 6-1 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out three.
It's been a disappointing campaign overall for Gausman, but the 33-year-old righty still tied his career high in wins with a sharp performance in his last outing. The quality start was his 16th of the season, and Gausman gave up three earned runs or less in his last nine trips to the mound, posting a 2.22 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 43:20 K:BB through 56.2 innings over that stretch. The loss of strikeouts is a worrying sign -- his 21.4 percent K rate in 2024 is a huge drop from the 31.1 percent mark he posted the year before -- but he's still expected to head into spring training next season as one of the veteran anchors for Toronto's rotation.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Cleared to start Wednesday
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Gausman (back) is listed as the Blue Jays' probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox in Toronto.
Gausman was in the midst of a no-hitter his last time out Thursday versus the Rangers before he was lifted after five innings due to back tightness. He said after the start that he was feeling better while suggesting that his early exit was precautionary more than anything, and the Blue Jays' decision to include him in the pitching schedule for the final week of the season seemingly verifies as much. Gausman has been in peak form with the season winding down, as he's produced a 2.03 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 40:17 K:BB over 50.2 innings across his last eight starts.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Expects to make next start
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Gausman said after Thursday's game versus Texas that he isn't too concerned about his lower-back issue and expects to make his next scheduled start, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Gausman added that he first felt his back tighten up on him while throwing warm-up pitches, and his lack of concern suggests that his removal after five hitless innings was likely a precautionary decision. He'll carry a 3.91 ERA and 1.22 WHIP into his start against the Red Sox next week, which will most likely be his final appearance of 2024.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Exits with back tightness
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Gausman was removed from Thursday's game against the Rangers due to lower-back tightness.
Gausman was able to get through five shutout innings on just 58 pitches while striking out six batters and walking one before his back forced him to make an early departure. The severity of his injury remains unknown, but the Jays will certainly keep a close eye on him leading up to his next start -- tentatively scheduled for Tuesday against the Red Sox.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Goes seven innings in no-decision
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Gausman allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks over seven frames during a no-decision Friday. He struck out three in the extra-innings win over St. Louis.
Gausman got off to a rocky start, giving up four straight singles to begin the contest, leading to two Cardinal runs. He didn't allow another run after that frame and, at one point, retired 11 straight batters. He's struck out five or fewer batters in seven of his last eight starts, resulting in a disappointing 36:19 K:BB over 50.1 innings. Gausman is sporting a 4.02 ERA with a 153:52 K:BB through 170 innings this season. He's currently in line for a road start against the Rangers next week.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Quality start in loss
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Gausman (12-11) took the loss Friday against Atlanta, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out five.
Despite being tagged with the loss, the veteran right-hander fared well against Atlanta in this 109-pitch outing, allowing just one extra-base hit -- a Jorge Soler double in the sixth inning. Gausman generated a solid 15 whiffs, including 10 alone on his splitter, and picked up his 14th quality start of the season. After pitching to a middling 4.50 ERA in the first half, the 33-year-old has been much sharper since the All-Star break, going 5-3 with a 3.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 46:23 K:BB across 59 innings. He lines up to make his next start against the Mets at home.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Gets no help in Friday's loss
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Gausman (12-10) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays were downed 2-0 by the Twins, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out four.
The veteran righty fought his control at times, tossing only 58 of 103 pitches for strikes, and the inefficiency cost him his 14th quality start of the season. Despite the loss, Gausman turned things around in August, posting a 2.20 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 26:11 K:BB over his last five outings and 32.2 innings. He'll try to extend his hot streak in his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend in Atlanta.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Stellar in 12th win
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Gausman (12-9) allowed a run on two hits and struck out 10 without walking a batter over seven innings to earn the win over the Angels on Sunday.
Gausman has dominated the Angels in two of his last three starts, once in Anaheim and once in Toronto. This was the fourth time this year he's reached double digits in strikeouts. The only run on his line Sunday came on a Zach Neto RBI single in the fourth inning. Gausman has four quality starts over his last six outings, and he's gone at least seven innings in each of those quality starts. For the year, the Blue Jays' ace is at a 4.10 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 141:43 K:BB through 151.1 innings over 26 starts. He's projected to make his next start on the road at Minnesota.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Tabbed with loss
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Gausman (11-9) took the loss Monday against the Reds, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks across five-plus innings. He struck out five.
Gausman was inefficient Monday, hitting 100 pitches before he retired a batter in the sixth inning. He exited the game with runners on first and second -- though the lead runner reached on a dropped third strike -- and Gausman's replacement Ryan Burr allowed both runners to score. the loss was Gausman's first in seven starts, a stretch where he's logged a 3.42 ERA across 47.1 innings. The 33-year-old is tentatively scheduled to face the Angels this weekend.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Cruises to win
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Gausman (11-8) allowed six hits and two walks while striking out five over seven scoreless innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Angels.
Gausman has pitched into the seventh inning in five of his last six starts, but this was his most impressive outing in that span. While he's walked multiple batters in five straight starts, he hasn't lost since July 5. The right-hander trimmed his ERA to 4.20 with a 1.26 WHIP and 126:41 K:BB through 139.1 innings over 24 starts this season. His next outing is projected to be at home versus the Reds.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Registers 10th victory
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Gausman (10-8) earned the win over Baltimore on Thursday, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two batters over eight innings.
The only runs against Gausman came on Colton Cowser's two-run homer in the third inning. The veteran hurler yielded only one hit outside of that frame and retired the final eight batters he faced. Gausman notched his fourth quality start over six outings since the beginning of July, and he's gone 4-1 with a 3.70 ERA across 41.1 frames during that span. Despite that solid stretch, Gausman continues to underwhelm in the strikeout department -- he has just 30 punchouts over the aforementioned 41.1-inning span and is on track to average fewer than a strikeout per inning for the first time since 2018.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Escapes from Bronx with no-decision
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Gausman came away with a no-decision in Friday's 8-5 win over the Yankees, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out two.
Two-run homers by Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe accounted for most of the damage off Gausman, as the 33-year-old right-hander saw his three-start win streak snapped. He exited after 4.2 innings and 93 pitches, and it perhaps shouldn't have been surprising that Gausman would take a step back after he tossed a complete game July 27 against the Rangers, especially considering how inconsistent he's been in 2024. He'll take 4.56 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 119:36 K:BB through 124.1 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Orioles.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Strikes out eight in complete game
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Gausman (9-8) earned the win against the Rangers on Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over nine innings.
Gausman yielded three runs over the first three innings but rebounded with six scoreless frames to record his second complete game of the season. He threw 81 of 118 pitches for strikes and retired 18 consecutive batters at one point before walking Nathaniel Lowe in the ninth. The 33-year-old registered three wins and three quality starts in four July outings and now owns a 4.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 117:33 K:BB across 119.2 innings this year. He'll try to carry this momentum into a road matchup with the Yankees next week.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Yields grand slam in win
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Gausman (8-8) picked up the win Sunday against Detroit, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks across 6.2 innings. He struck out five.
All four runs against Gausman came on one swing of the bat, with Justyn-Henry Malloy launching a grand slam in the fifth inning. Two of the three baserunners aboard for Malloy's long ball reached via walk. In spite of the grand slam, Gausman came away with his second consecutive victory and completed at least six innings for the fourth time in five starts. Although the 33-year-old has been significantly less effective this season, he still owns a palatable 4.55 ERA with 109 strikeouts through 110.2 innings. Gausman is on track for a home start against the Rangers next weekend.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Lands seventh victory
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Gausman (7-8) picked up the win Thursday against San Francisco, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks across seven innings. He struck out three.
Both runs charged to Gausman came in the first inning when Heliot Ramos launched a two-run home run. Outside of the long ball, Gausman was able to induce enough soft contact to make it through seven innings while generating only seven whiffs. The 33-year-old entered Thursday's start with losses in four of his previous five appearances, and he allowed four or more runs three times during that stretch. However, he's logged a quality start in back-to-back outings and owns a 4.50 ERA across 104.0 innings heading into the All-Star break.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Happy with mechanical tweaks
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Gausman tinkered with his mechanics ahead of Friday's start against the Mariners, in which he tied his season high with 10 strikeouts, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. "I definitely had a bit of a different delivery today, and that was by design," Gausman said after the outing. "It's something we're trying to get back to what I was doing in 2021. I think it will allow me to be around the zone a little bit more."
The veteran right-hander saw his fastball average 1.4 mph more than it had this season coming into the start, while the movement on his splitter was more effective as a result of the tweaks. "I was getting way too much horizontal movement on my splitter and not enough vertical movement," Gausman said. "I haven't looked at the metrics, but I could tell that it was carrying the zone. To me, that shows the vertical was there on my splitter. Guys are going to swing more at it when it looks like it's going to be in the zone longer." Gausman, who missed much of spring training due to shoulder fatigue, has had an inconsistent beginning to the season and will carry a 4.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 24.0 percent strikeout rate into his next start -- numbers all well below the standard he established during his career resurgence in San Francisco in 2020-21.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Strikes out 10 in loss
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Gausman (6-8) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 10 over six innings to take the loss Friday versus the Mariners.
Gausman allowed a two-run double to Luke Raley in the third inning, and that was enough to stick him with his fourth loss in five outings. This was his third 10-strikeout game of the year, as well as his third quality start over his last seven games. He's at a 4.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 101:27 K:BB through 97 innings over 18 starts overall. Gausman's next start is projected to be on the road in San Francisco.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Allows seven runs in loss
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Gausman (6-7) suffered the loss Sunday, allowing seven runs on seven hits, five walks and a hit batsman against the Yankees. He struck out seven.
Gausman needed 107 pitches to record 13 outs, allowing season highs in runs (seven) and walks (five) while being tagged for three extra-base hits including a first-inning Aaron Judge two-run blast. Gausman did strike out seven batters to represent the fourth time this season he's reached at least seven in an outing, but that's nothing more than a minor silver lining around Sunday's ugly performance. It's the fifth time this season Gausman has allowed at least five runs in a start, and he closes the month of June with a 5.64 ERA over 36.2 innings spanning six starts. His next start is tentatively slated for when the Blue Jays head west to take on the Mariners in Seattle next weekend.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Notches sixth win
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Gausman (6-6) picked up the win Tuesday in a 9-4 victory over the Red Sox, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five.
A Vladimir Guerrero error meant that Gausman squeaked out his seventh quality start of the season, but the rest of the damage off the right-hander came on a Rafael Devers solo shot in the second inning and a two-run blast over the Green Monster by Tyler O'Neill in the sixth. Gausman has been taken deep eight times over his last five outings, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 4.45 ERA despite a 1.11 WHIP and 28:6 K:BB through 32.1 innings. He could have trouble keeping the ball in the park once again in his next start, which lines up to come at home this weekend against the Yankees.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Struggles with command in loss
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Gausman (5-6) took the loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Gausman allowed an unearned run in the third inning then surrendered solo home runs in the fourth and fifth. He was pulled after yielding an RBI single with two outs in the sixth and was charged with another run when an inherited runner scored on an RBI single off reliever Tim Mayza. Gausman generated only two swinging strikes on his splitter and has now allowed four or more earned runs in five of his 15 starts this season. He'll carry a 4.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 79:19 K:BB into a potential rematch with the Red Sox next week.