{"id":838797,"date":"2026-08-02T00:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838797\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:32:09","slug":"hes-been-everything-gausman-lifts-blue-jays-in-final-start-before-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838797\/","title":{"rendered":"‘He’s been everything’: Gausman lifts Blue Jays in final start before deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees was on the verge of unravelling on the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> in the sixth inning. Kevin Gausman<\/a> had cruised through five and led 2-0 when an Anthony Volpe double, Austin Wells single and Trent Grisham loaded the bases for Aaron Judge. <\/p>\n

Unfazed, Gausman rallied to strike out the AL MVP for the first out and as gutsy as that was, what came next required even more mettle. Rather than giving in, he issued a four-pitch walk to Cody Bellinger that brought home a run, but ultimately helped the Blue Jays escape the inning with the lead, as Ben Rice popped out before Louis Varland came on to blow away Giancarlo Stanton. \u00a0They broke the game open in the seventh and eventually won 10-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was well aware of everything he was doing that entire inning and knowing that he could manoeuvre the way he did and knowing that I had a dude throwing a 101 for Stanton after his pitch count was up pretty high,\u201d manager John Schneider marvelled. \u201cKev’s a great pitcher, but he also can navigate those spots when he’s at his best. That’s part of what makes him great.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a day to celebrate the 35-year-old\u2019s many accomplishments since signing a $110-million, five-year deal with the Blue Jays that expires this fall, that inning in that outing is one of many highlights from a remarkable run that was top of mind. To log 861 regular-season innings, and counting, over the last 4\u00bd years, third most in the majors over that span, to start on Opening Day and in post-season series, to consistently be the type of pitcher the team trusts in its biggest moments, requires the steeliness, determination and competitiveness Gausman showed in that fateful frame versus the Yankees.<\/p>\n

Each of those qualities, along with his endearing embrace of the community, were part of the standard he set during his time with Toronto, which appears likely to end before the trade deadline passes at 6 p.m. ET Monday. And that\u2019s why a crowd of 41,819 stood and cheered as he walked off the field after 5.2 innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a>, and why he tapped his heart back before descending to the dugout on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Try as he did to keep things as normal as he could, \u201cit was tough to not think about what could be,\u201d he said, quickly adding that \u201cI hope it’s not.\u201d A respite came as he worked around nine hits and a walk while striking out four, but the fans cheering as he exited \u201cmade me realize (the possibilities) again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a cool moment. The fans have done a lot of cool moments for me since I’ve been here, but that was definitely up there,\u201d Gausman continued, adding that he felt \u201cappreciation for receiving that kind of love. I’ve played this game long enough to know those things don’t happen all the time. Tried to soak it in and, had to go down in the tunnel after to kind of regroup myself. But what a cool moment, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that was indeed his last start for the Blue Jays \u2014 he said he\u2019s \u201chad some discussions\u201d with the front office \u201cand I honestly really appreciate the discussion that we had,\u201d without elaborating \u2014 then it\u2019s the end of an era. He made 148 regular-season starts and pitched in eight more post-season games during three playoff appearances, a cornerstone for the franchise both in terms of performance and what it wants to stand for.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s been everything, right?\u201d said George Springer, himself a potential candidate, but one with a full no-trade as a 10-and-5 player. \u201cHe\u2019s been consistent, he wants the ball in a big game, he wants the ball in a big spot. But I think the thing that I’ll take from him is how much he cares about us and who he is as an individual, not just a baseball player.”<\/p>\n

The outpouring of support for him began the second he emerged from the dugout to warmup in the bullpen and didn\u2019t ebb until his day was done. What\u2019s next will be determined by the deadline\u2019s machinations \u2014 scouts from at least five clubs were on hand and the starter market began to move on a lower tier Friday night when the Twins acquired Dean Kremer from Baltimore \u2014 but he\u2019s been bracing for the possible change.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

How Gausman gets valued by rival clubs in what\u2019s been an up-and-down season is uncertain. The market includes some longer-term options like Jose Soriano, whom the Los Angeles Angels scratched from his scheduled start due to a \u201cprudent approach\u201d<\/a> ahead of the deadline,\u00a0and George Kirby<\/a>, whom the Seattle Mariners have engaged with multiple teams about according to ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan,\u00a0while Tarik Skubal sits as the definitive top option in the rental market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re still in it,\u201d said Daulton Varsho, another potential trade candidate. \u201cI mean we’re 4.5 games out (of the third wild-card spot heading into Saturday’s play), it’s not like we’re 10.5 games back. We’ve got to keep our heads down, keep grinding, keep playing good baseball and see where the year ends up. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think we’re a really good team. Like on paper, we’re still a really good team, we’ve just got to prove it every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever happens, Gausman keeps proving his worth each time he takes the mound, and his dependability won\u2019t be easily replaced or replicated. Nor will the wider impact of his leadership in the clubhouse and presence in the community.<\/p>\n

Asked what he hopes fans appreciate about him, Gausman noted that people \u201cgravitate towards certain guys for whatever reason,\u201d before adding, \u201cI think I’ve been pretty consistent since I’ve been here, so that’s obviously helped. And that’s why I think of myself as a Blue Jay \u2026 I feel like the most consistent of any team that I’ve been on, it’s been here. I hope they realize that I’ve embraced not just the team, but the country and I really love this city and everything it stands for. But outside of that, also the organization and what they’ve entrusted (me with). They’ve put a lot of trust in me and I feel the same way as them. So, a lot of love. This has been the best decision I’ve ever made, to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Schneider said the Blue Jays didn\u2019t have \u201cone conversation\u201d about not starting him Saturday and he underlined the push and pull of the deadline when he added that, \u201cwe don’t want him to go anywhere and I know he doesn’t want to go anywhere, unfortunately, that’s not how baseball works sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And seemingly not for Gausman this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Kev will go down as one of the best free-agent signings the organization has made, especially from a pitching standpoint,\u201d said Schneider. \u201cHe’s remarkably consistent, professional, good teammate, low maintenance, everything that you want in a front-line dude. \u2026 He’s been just the model of consistency both in the clubhouse and on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2013 Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees was on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-838797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}