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Kevin Gausman just as advertised in first starts as a Blue Jay

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Taber Times

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

One of the bigger signings the Blue Jays made in the offseason was for right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Gausman. The Jays were rumoured to be in on Gausman the previous offseason, but the pitcher at that point decided to head back to San Francisco — and it is hard

to argue why he did that after another great season, which included a start in the postseason.

In the regular season in 2021, Gausman went 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 192 innings pitched, 50 walks, and 227 strikeouts. His ERA+ was 145, his WHIP was 1.042, and his per nines were also very good at 7.0 H/9, 0.9 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 10.6 K/9. All that led to a massive contract in the offseason with the Jays that was five years and $110 million. And so far, he’s been stellar when he’s taken the mound. In three starts so far, he’s put up a 2.89 ERA, pitched 18.2 innings, given up zero home runs and walks, and collected 22 Ks. Sure, it’s early, but getting off to a good start on a new team is incredibly encouraging for Jays’ fans.

This pitching staff was billed as one of the best in the American League, but Hyun Jin-Ryu got off to a bad start and is now on the injured list — which may not be a bad thing as it could give him some time to figure it out. With one of the starting five on the IL already, Gausman, along with Jose Berrios, Alek Manoah, Yusei Kikuchi, and now Ross Stripling are going to be relied upon. While Berrios got the Opening Day start, Gausman was always looked at as the co-Ace of this staff. And his last start in Boston against the Red Sox where he went eight innings, gave up seven hits, one run, no walks, and struck out eight batters was one of the better starts we’ve seen the Jays have in quite some time.

He got the hook early in the ninth inning, which was fine because closer Jordan Romano has been unbeatable closing out games, but the chance at posting a complete game was exciting for fans.

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