Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman tosses a complete game shutout to secure series win over Astros

“That was awesome, hats off to you guys, that was incredible,” said Gausman, speaking to Mae postgame. “Trying to keep my emotions in check, I was thinking I was going to have to go 105 (pitches) out there… I was just pounding the zone, and I don’t know what my first-pitch strike percentage was, but it was probably 90%, and I felt like every hitter I was 0-1. If I can do that, I am going to be tough to beat.

“Look at this crowd. Look at this city. Everybody is fired up. You need to bring your A-game.”

At the plate, the Jays’ bats got cooking early to give Gausman some room to work with.

Nathan Lukes got the party started with an RBI double in the second at-bat of the game, scoring George Springer from first base. Addison Barger would bring him home shortly after, lacing a ball to centre field for a double of his own to make it 2-0. Davis Schneider added to the tally with a solo shot to kick off the bottom half of the second inning, driving a Cristian Javier fastball over the left field wall to make it 3-0.

Daulton Varsho would kick off the bottom of the fourth with a triple to centre field and would come home shortly after thanks to a Schneider sac-fly. The bats wouldn’t add another run until the bottom of the eighth inning with Springer and Lukes generating a walk and a single, respectively. A flyout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would move Springer to third base, and Barger would send a line drive to right field that Jesus Sanchez couldn’t handle, scoring Springer on the fielding error. Varsho would send a groundball through the left side to score Lukes, making it 6-0 on the day.

Barger also had an impressive day in the field, laying out for a Mauricio Dubon ground ball to throw him out at first in the third inning and following that effort with a jumping effort on a line drive from Christian Walker.

In total, the Jays’ bats generated eight hits, two walks, and struck out six times while generating four extra base hits. Everyone except for Ernie Clement, Tyler Heineman, and Andres Gimenez found their way into the hit column. For the Astros, Jeremy Pena and Carlos Correa were the only Astros to reach base via a hit, while Pena also generated the lone walk late in the game. The Astros’ shortstop, Correa, and Sanchez all struck out twice on the day.

Toronto will have a day off before welcoming the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set starting Friday. Chris Bassitt is the current projected pitcher, while the Orioles are slated to send southpaw Trevor Rogers to the mound.