Facing the prospect of six straight losses and a sweep on their home turf, the Blue Jays needed their ace at their best on Sunday afternoon. Gausman delivered. The right-hander neutralized a Dodgers lineup that had haunted Toronto over the first two games of the series, pitching seven innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win at Rogers Centre.
He did so in his usual collected manner, striking out five hitters with no walks on five hits, and making big pitches in key moments. Still, the urgency of the game wasn’t lost on him.
“We kind of just played with our hair on fire today,” said Gausman.
He still kept a cool head, though.
Take the top of the fifth, for example, when Gausman allowed a double to Max Muncy to open the inning then allowed James Outman to reach with one out by getting overambitious on a grounder back up the middle, attempting to throw behind Muncy at second and coming away without an out.
With runners on first and second, Gausman locked in. He threw three consecutive fastballs to Gavin Lux to strike him out looking, then he got Austin Barnes to ground a splitter in the zone for a forceout to end the frame.
That was the tune through Gausman’s whole outing: no panic, no pressing, one well-executed pitch at a time. It’s what the Blue Jays have come to expect of him — even if this season got off to a wonky start.
“It gives me the confidence I’m on the right track,” Gausman said of Sunday’s outing. “It was unfortunate how this season started. Obviously, I would have loved to have a normal spring and have felt great since day one, but that kind of wasn’t the reality. So it’s nice to feel like I’m getting back to who I can be and who I want to be for this team.”
After having his spring disrupted by shoulder fatigue, Gausman looked unusually inconsistent in his first few starts, struggling with command at times. He addressed that by sharpening his mechanics and cleaning up a few timing issues in his delivery of it. The “night-and-day” difference was on display in Toronto’s win.
Gausman moved through the Dodgers’ lineup on 93 pitches (68 strikes), topping out at 97 mph with his fastball, which he threw early and often.
“We had our work cut out for us coming in,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He’s one of the top starters in the American League. …He was efficient, he made pitches when he needed to.”
Gausman’s dominance — with the lone blemish coming on a Freddie Freeman homer in the sixth — brought his ERA down to 4.50, and he’s looked more and more like himself in his past three outings. He’s still the stopper, the guy the Blue Jays want on the mound when they’re looking to end a skid.
“When Kev’s right, he’s as good as anybody,” said manager John Schneider. “That’s a really, really tough lineup, and to hold them to one run was [impressive]. …It is nice to have him on a day like today.”
That trust rubs off on his defense, too. Gausman got some help on that end, including another great catch by Daulton Varsho, who collided with the wall in centerfield while securing a 106.6 mph liner off the bat of Shohei Ohtani in the first inning. George Springer got involved as well, laying out for a diving catch to keep a crucial run off the bases in the ninth.
The Blue Jays needed all of it. There was plenty to like about the pitching in Sunday’s win, but the offense is still demanding its hurlers to be perfect. Other than Alejandro Kirk’s three-hit game — which featured his first homer of the season to cap a three-run second inning — Toronto couldn’t muster much at the plate, going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position with just two extra-base hits.
When Gausman is at his best, a razor-thin margin is all he needs, but the Blue Jays (14-15) recognize the need to get back to doing damage at the plate, to keep tacking on runs after that one big inning.
“You’ve got to keep just plugging along, really,” said Schneider. “It’s just kind of a matter of time until we start rolling offensively, I think.”
