Kevin Gausman's dominance backs blowout Blue Jays win

TORONTO — Last week, after a frustrating loss to the Rays in which he allowed a season-high three home runs on the way to an 8-3 loss, Kevin Gausman spoke calmly, but his message was clear: he wasn’t satisfied with the way he was pitching. 

“In this game if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse,” he said at the time. “So I have to get better.”

Six days later, it’s apparent that whatever adjustments Gausman made worked. While his fastball velocity wasn't quite as high as it was last start, he still averaged 94.6 m.p.h. with his heater while his splitter became a dominant out-pitch again, generating 13 swinging strikes on the way to nine strikeouts in a 14-0 Toronto Blue Jays win.

“If he can do that, that’s obviously big,” said manager John Schneider. “You think back to a few years ago where he was that basically every night out and he still has the ability to be that. Hopefully something he can build on.

“That would just be a big stabilizing force for us.”

Nathan Lukes hit a two-run home run to get the Blue Jays started, three Manny Machado errors sparked a five-run rally in the seventh and Daulton Varsho hit a grand slam in the eighth to bring the Blue Jays back to .500 at 24-24. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect day for the Blue Jays: Anthony Santander left the game with hip inflammation, an issue he’s been battling in recent days.

"For us to score two touchdowns was pretty crazy because early on it was kind of a pitcher's duel until the sixth," Gausman said. "It was nice to see those guys string some things together."

The hitters certainly did their part, but it was Gausman who stood out most, pitching 7.0 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits. It’s the kind of pitching performance he’s delivered many times as a Blue Jay — but these truly dominant starts have been a rarity for the 2025 Blue Jays.

"It was unbelievable," Lukes said. "He had command over everything."

After allowing six runs on 10 hits against the Rays last week, Gausman wanted to improve the consistency of his splitter, his primary off-speed pitch. He found the pitch was moving laterally when he wanted it to move vertically, dropping out of the way of an opponent’s bat. 

Between starts he worked on his grip, paying special attention to finger placement.

"Sometimes for whatever reason, my fingers want to have a mind of their own," he said. "It's just kind of reminding them 'stay put' to be honest. 'Don't move so much.'"

The message seemed to get through, as Gausman threw the splitter 46 times — more than any other pitch — and the Padres put it in play just five times.

As he said: "The split was a serious weapon." 

On a day Gausman was pitching so well, the Padres would have had to excel in other areas of the game to beat the Blue Jays but that was not the case Wednesday. Though he’s typically a strong defender, Machado somewhat shockingly made three errors in the seventh, contributing to five unearned runs that allowed the Blue Jays to put the game out of reach on their way to a season-high 14 runs.

One of those errors came on a sacrifice bunt for Lukes, who singled twice while also hitting his fourth home run of the season. After a three-hit game, the 30-year-old is batting .266 with the quietest .809 OPS you’ll find — remarkable production for a player who’s been overlooked for years.

"It's great so far," Lukes said. "I like to shoot for the moon, so hopefully we'll get (the production) up even more."

"He's healthy (and) he's confident," Schneider added. "Nate's in a good spot and understanding what he's good at."

Meanwhile, Varsho’s power production continued with his team-leading seventh home run of the season. After the grand slam, the Padres turned to position player Tyler Wade as the game was truly out of reach.

To their credit, the Blue Jays took advantage of Machado’s mistakes, allowing them to tie their season high for runs in an inning with five. Offsetting that excitement, though, hip inflammation forced Santander out of the game during that rally and while Jonatan Clase’s two-run double added welcome insurance, Santander’s early exit shows his hip isn’t improving as well as the team had hoped.

“It was a little bit awkward and I don't want to take any chances with losing him for an extended period of time,” Schneider said. "We'll see how he is (Thursday)."

On a more positive note, the rally allowed the Blue Jays to rest their top relievers. When the score was still 2-0, Yimi Garcia started warming up and Jeff Hoffman surely would have been next. Instead, Jose Urena covered the last two innings, putting the Blue Jays in a strong position to push for a sweep Thursday. 

For weeks, the Blue Jays have dreamed of a run like this where their starters dominate, their offence puts up crooked numbers and their bullpen can finally rest. By now they know from experience that it’s rare to have it all come together like this — so they’ll just have to ride the wave as long as they can.

"All smiles," Lukes said.