Kevin Gausman barely got to see the final pitches off the bench.
Peering over the shoulders of his teammates, Gausman celebrated when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took the ball first himself, helping Jordan Romano out of a jam and securing Toronto’s victory.
“It was a little stressful,” Gausman said on the postgame broadcast.
Gausman started the ninth inning himself, grabbing his glove and taking a drink of water before attempting to close out the complete game. Although a single by Trevor Story ended his day, he remained the star of Toronto’s 3-2 victory in a rubber game over the Red Sox.
Here are three takeaways from Gausman’s departure and the Blue Jays’ victory:
Gausman unbeatable and efficient
Gausman spun the ball in his hand, putting his Blue Jays cap back on before setting up his 87th pitch. With the wind blowing his hair back, Gausman buried a splitter inside for his eighth strikeout of the game, the last out he would record.
As Gausman walked back to the dugout after the eighth inning, José Berríos danced to celebrate his teammate’s departure. Working his eight-plus innings on just 88 pitches, the right-hander displayed the durability and dependability that general manager Ross Atkins praised in his introductory winter news conference. Gausman pitched seven or more innings nine times during his walk year with the Giants in 2021.
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Toronto’s starter got in position to work deep by jumping ahead of hitters and inducing soft contact. Only five Boston contact pieces expected batting averages above .300, as Gausman kept the Red Sox off balance with his trademark fastball/splitter combination.
Gausman also mixed up his third pitch, the slider, 16 times. On Thursday, the course generated 13 swings and seven whiffs for an outstanding 44% called strike plus whiff rate. Overall, he generated 19 bunts, including nine swinging strikes on pitches out of the zone.
Gausman’s swing shots on Thursday
baseball sage
Tapia improves
Gausman didn’t allow dangerous contact until the fifth inning, when Christian Vazquez lit an inside splitter and finished it off against the green monster. Waiting under the ball was Raimel Tapia, who played the one-rebound hit and hit a throw to second to send Vázquez walking back to the dugout.
The young Red Sox outfielders have practiced all their baseball lives to correctly play caroms against the wall. It took Tapia only a few innings to pull it off.
Heading into the Red Sox series, Tapia had a .200 batting average and a .440 OPS. With just one extra-base hit, no walks, and four strikeouts, the ‘offensive compliment’ Toronto management saw in Tapia had yet to show. But with a home run in Wednesday’s win and two hits on Thursday, the left-handed outfielder is finding his form in every facet. With Teoscar Hernández still on the disabled list, Tapia’s contributions will be key.
katoh debuts
After 764 minor league games and two MLB pinch-hit appearances, Gosuke Katoh found his name in a major league starting lineup for the first time Thursday.
Known primarily as a versatile bat-to-ball hitter, Katoh saw a first-pitch fastball fly out of the zone during his first major league plate appearance. Fouling two heaters, Katoh’s patience allowed him to take four balls from Tanner Houck and earn a walk.
Nearly nine years after the Yankees drafted him in the second round, Katoh went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored in his first MLB start. He was picked up by a pinch hitter Santiago Espinal in the middle of the innings.
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