Gausman has best stuff in clutch win over Yankees
Gausman struck out Trent Grisham and two-time American League MVP Aaron Judge in the first two at bats of the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Monday night. Gausman struck out eight and gave up just one run over seven innings as Toronto earned a critical win over the rival Yankees.
That one-two punchout was when Gausman knew he had his best stuff.
'Unfortunately for me, I'm usually not very good at the first two innings. My career ERA would be so much lower if, you know, I could figure that out,' said Gausman, who has a 3.86 earned-run average over his career, although he has a 4.69 ERA in the first inning and a 3.32 ERA in the second over his 13 Major League Baseball seasons.
Story continues below advertisement
'But when I'm able to come out and establish the fastball and throw swing-and-miss splitters straight out the jump, I feel pretty confident that I can go seven innings or even more.'
Gausman fell behind Judge 2-0 in the first inning but then got him out with a swinging strike on a four-seam fastball, a foul ball on another four-seamer followed by another swinging strike on a splitter.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The two battled again in the fifth with Oswald Peraza on third base and two outs.
Gausman jumped out to a quick 0-2 count in that at bat but Judge drew a pair of balls to even it 2-2. Judge fouled off three-consecutive four-seamers that were all over 96 miles per hour, before he popped up an 84.6 m.p.h. splitter to catcher Alejandro Kirk to end the top of the inning.
Story continues below advertisement
'That's kind of mano a mano,' said Gausman of the impressive showing against Judge. 'If he gets a hit, it's going to score a run, and if I get him out, I'm out of the inning so definitely tried to throw my best fastballs.
'If you look at my numbers, they're not too great against him. He's had a lot of success against me. I've struck him out a good bit, but he's a two-time MVP for a reason.'
The sold-out Rogers Centre crowd of 41,786 seemed to appreciate Gausman's battles against Judge, with a loud ovation when Kirk caught the pop-fly in foul territory.
'(Gausman) was awesome,' said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. 'Kind of what you expect out of a veteran guy to get the series going.
'Huge at bat versus Judge in the fifth. That was a good battle. Came after him with heaters, but Kev, he was in total control. Really, really good performance.'
It was Toronto's (59-41) fourth win in a row and seventh in 10 games. The Blue Jays added to their lead atop the AL East, four games ahead of New York.
'Anytime you can go seven innings, against a division rival is going to be big, especially the first game of a series, rest some of those guys out there (in the bullpen),' said Gausman. 'If you can get a little bit further, it's going to set things up nice for the rest of the series.'
Story continues below advertisement
The Yankees have two more games at Rogers Centre in the series. Toronto has a Major League Baseball-best 36-16 record at home so far this season and has won a franchise-best 11 consecutive games at Rogers Centre.
'I think that the city and the fans deserve that,' said Schneider. 'We love the support. You look up at 6:45 p.m. and the place is full.
'It's a really cool feeling and the guys, they feel that. Everyone feels that.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
14 minutes ago
- Global News
Rice's late homer lifts Yankees over Blue Jays 5-4
TORONTO – Ben Rice's ninth-inning home run helped the New York Yankees salvage a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Jazz Chisholm Jr., had a three-run homer in the first inning and Cody Bellinger added a solo shot in the fifth for an early New York (56-45) lead. Cam Schlittler gave up seven hits and three walks over five innings but limited the Blue Jays to just two runs. Relievers Tim Hill, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton (2-1) and Devin Williams following Schlittler to the mound. Pinch-hitter Davis Schneider and George Springer each had an RBI double to tie it 4-4 for Toronto (59-42) in the sixth. Addison Barger kept the Blue Jays in the game with RBI singles in the first and fifth. Story continues below advertisement Max Scherzer gave up four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings, striking out four. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Mason Fluharty, Justin Bruihl, Jeff Hoffman (6-3) came out of the bullpen with Hoffman taking the loss. TAKEAWAYS Yankees: New York got to Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer, early with Trent Grisham and Bellinger leading the game off with back-to-back hits. Although two-time MVP Aaron Judge struck out, Chisholm took Scherzer deep to right field for the 3-0 lead. Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider subbed in pinch hitters Myles Straw and Davis Schneider in the sixth inning and the gambit paid off. Straw, in for Joey Loperfido, reached base on shortstop Anthony Volpe's throwing error. Two batters later, Schneider doubled in Straw. Springer then drove in Schneider with his two-bagger to tie the game 4-4. KEY MOMENT Hoffman came on in the ninth to shutdown the middle of the Yankees' batting order and set up a potential Toronto walk-off victory. The Blue Jays' closer hung a 96.9 miles per hour four-seam fastball high in the strike zone and Rice crushed it to reclaim New York's lead. KEY STAT Toronto's four-game win streak and franchise-best 11-game home win streak were snapped with the loss, but the Blue Jays still hold a three-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East standings. Story continues below advertisement UP NEXT Chris Bassitt (10-4) will take the mound as Toronto finishes its three-game series with New York. Ace Max Fried (11-3) gets the start for the Yankees. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rice's late homer lifts Yankees over Blue Jays 5-4 to cut Toronto's AL East lead to 3
TORONTO – Ben Rice's ninth-inning home run helped the New York Yankees salvage a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Jazz Chisholm Jr., had a three-run homer in the first inning and Cody Bellinger added a solo shot in the fifth for an early New York (56-45) lead. Cam Schlittler gave up seven hits and three walks over five innings but limited the Blue Jays to just two runs. Relievers Tim Hill, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton (2-1) and Devin Williams following Schlittler to the mound. Pinch-hitter Davis Schneider and George Springer each had an RBI double to tie it 4-4 for Toronto (59-42) in the sixth. Addison Barger kept the Blue Jays in the game with RBI singles in the first and fifth. Max Scherzer gave up four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings, striking out four. Mason Fluharty, Justin Bruihl, Jeff Hoffman (6-3) came out of the bullpen with Hoffman taking the loss. TAKEAWAYS Yankees: New York got to Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer, early with Trent Grisham and Bellinger leading the game off with back-to-back hits. Although two-time MVP Aaron Judge struck out, Chisholm took Scherzer deep to right field for the 3-0 lead. Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider subbed in pinch hitters Myles Straw and Davis Schneider in the sixth inning and the gambit paid off. Straw, in for Joey Loperfido, reached base on shortstop Anthony Volpe's throwing error. Two batters later, Schneider doubled in Straw. Springer then drove in Schneider with his two-bagger to tie the game 4-4. KEY MOMENT Hoffman came on in the ninth to shutdown the middle of the Yankees' batting order and set up a potential Toronto walk-off victory. The Blue Jays' closer hung a 96.9 miles per hour four-seam fastball high in the strike zone and Rice crushed it to reclaim New York's lead. KEY STAT Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Toronto's four-game win streak and franchise-best 11-game home win streak were snapped with the loss, but the Blue Jays still hold a three-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East standings. UP NEXT Chris Bassitt (10-4) will take the mound as Toronto finishes its three-game series with New York. Ace Max Fried (11-3) gets the start for the Yankees. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ben Rice hits tiebreaking home run in ninth inning, Yankees beat Blue Jays 5-4
TORONTO (AP) — Ben Rice hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Cody Bellinger also homered and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Tuesday. Rice connected off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman (6-3) for his 15th home run as the Yankees snapped a five-game losing streak against Toronto. Ian Hamilton (2-1) got one out for the win and Devin Williams finished for his 15th save in 16 chances. Addison Barger had two hits and George Springer reached base four times but Toronto's franchise-record home winning streak ended at 11 games. New York led 4-2 before a throwing error by Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe opened the door to a game-tying rally in the sixth. The error was Volpe's 13th, tying him for most in the majors. It was his second error in two games. Pinch hitter Myles Straw reached on Volpe's error and scored when pinch hitter Davis Schneider doubled off left-hander Tim Hill. Jonathan Loáisiga came on to face George Springer, who drove in Schneider with a game-tying single. Making his second career start, Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out three. Toronto's Max Scherzer allowed four runs and five hits in five innings. New York jumped out to an early lead when Chisholm hit a three-run homer off Scherzer in the first, his 18th. Barger hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first, but Bellinger's one-out blast in the fifth, his 18th, made it 4-1. Key moment Rice hit a 389-foot homer on the first pitch he saw from Hoffman. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Schlittler's fastest pitch of the game was clocked at 99.5 mph, one of four he threw above 99 mph. Up next Yankees LHP Max Fried (11-3, 2.43 ERA) is expected to start against Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (10-4, 3.89) in Wednesday's series finale. ___ AP MLB:
