Kevin Gausman entered Sunday’s day/night doubleheader against the New York Yankees with a very respectable 3.16 ERA, coming off a four-run outing against Houston on Tuesday.
He exited Sunday’s doubleheader with a fiery ejection and a piece in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history, though perhaps not the kind of history one would want to be associated with.
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Gausman walked five Yankee batters, including two bases-loaded walks. He faced nine Yankees in the third inning before allowing a three-run, bases-clearing double to Austin Wells to finish with six runs total on the day.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34)© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
In the Yankees’ six-run third inning, Gausman threw a whopping 53 pitches, which led to his removal from the game by manager John Schneider after Wells’ double.
Gausman’s 53 pitches thrown were tied with Woody Williams in 1998 for the most in one inning by a Blue Jays pitcher. It was the most by any pitcher in MLB since Cameron Vieaux of the Pirates on July 21, 2022.
The Yankees worked counts against Gausman very adeptly, with six of the nine batters faced by Gausman in the third inning seeing six or more pitches.
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Gausman clearly thought he didn’t need anywhere close to 53 pitches, as he stormed off the mound and argued with home plate umpire Chris Conroy enough to warrant an ejection.
Tensions continued to build, as manager John Schneider was tossed after voicing his continued frustration with Conroy’s wide zone, with the final straw being a low strike call against Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Gausman’s 2 2/3 innings pitched on Sunday was his most since April 7th, 2024, also against the Yankees in the Bronx when he allowed five earned runs over 1 1/3 innings.
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