Kevin Gausman has done everything in his power to put the Toronto Blue Jays in a position to win, but time and time again the team behind him has not provided enough support.
The latest example came Wednesday against the AL-East-leading Baltimore Orioles. Gausman held the Orioles to just two runs — while striking out eight — over six innings but the Blue Jays could only muster five singles in a 7-0 loss.
“We’re just waiting for that big stretch. We’ve kind of been waiting for that all year. Is it going to happen? I don’t know,” Gausman said after the game. “I hope it does. I hope it starts tomorrow, but we can’t keep sitting back and waiting on that. We’ve got to go now and we need a little bit more sense of urgency.”
The loss was the eighth time the Blue Jays have been shut down since June 19, the most in MLB. Three of those eight shutouts have come with Gausman on the mound and the American League strikeout leader has received the lowest run support of any starter in baseball this season.
Starting Pitcher | Run Support Per Start |
Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays) | 3.23 |
Logan Webb (Giants) | 3.30 |
Kyle Freeland (Rockies) | 3.49 |
JP Sears (Athletics) | 3.54 |
Miles Mikolas (Cardinals) | 3.60 |
The Blue Jays’ offensive shortcomings this season have been well documented but with the Seattle Mariners recently overtaking Toronto for the final AL wild-card spot, the pressure will only ratchet up entering the final weeks of the season.
“Every game matters,” Gausman said. “You look at not just the AL East but obviously the American (League) wild card, there’s five or six teams within a two or three-game difference. As a player, that’s what you want. You want to be in this spot with a month left with an opportunity to punch a ticket and control your own destiny. We haven’t necessarily played great baseball all year, but we’re in a situation now where we’re right there and we’ve just got to keep going.”
The Blue Jays will have a chance to get back on track Thursday in their final game against the Orioles this season, with Jose Berrios scheduled to make the start.
