Kevin Gausman walks to the dugout after a pitching change against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.Cole Burston/Getty Images
Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday to start Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Seattle versus the Mariners.
Manager John Schneider confirmed the news on Thursday, prior to Game 4 at T-Mobile Park.
“You like his composure, you like the way he’s throwing the ball, you like his stuff, you like his heartbeat in big situations,” said Schneider. “He’s been, arguably, one of our, if not our best, pitchers throughout the year in the second half. But I think he’s just a guy that if you need a big outing from, he’s shown that he can rise to the occasion.”
It’s the second start of this ALCS for Gausman, who pitched Game 1 on Sunday, a 3-1 loss for the Jays in Toronto. The veteran right-hander allowed three hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings and struck out five.
As for pitching inside big T-Mobile Park, he’s not ready to assume it’s a pitcher’s park.
“Sometimes this place plays pretty big, but I’ve played here plenty of times where the ball is carrying out,” said Gausman. “Before the game [Wednesday] I didn’t think there was going to be much offence, and you saw we hit five homers. So whatever you think, playoff baseball is usually going to prove you wrong, so you try not to think about those things too much and just make pitches and live pitch-to-pitch.”
Gausman also started Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, a 10-1 win for the Jays. The 34-year-old threw 5 2/3 innings in that one too, allowing four hits and one run, while striking out three.
Gausman said he felt hyped watching Shane Bieber’s start on Wednesday. The Jays romped to a 13-4 win after Bieber bounced back from a tough first inning and had a solid outing. He took Seattle’s crowd out of it.
“I thought he did a great job of obviously, coming back, and I joked with him after the game, you know, he took this place to 120 and then took it to zero. You know, it was a really cool performance for him and huge for our team. So it was really fun to watch.”
The Mariners confirmed their Game 5 starter will be Bryce Miller, who also pitched Game 1, and was strong against the Jays. After George Springer cracked a homer off him in the Jays first at-bat, Miller allowed just one other hit in six innings, and allowed just the one run while striking out three. This time, Miller gets to pitch at home.