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Kevin Gausman explains major change influenced by Toronto Blue Jays fans

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Sep 12 2025, 3:57 pm
Kevin Gausman explains major change influenced by Toronto Blue Jays fans
John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays’ faithful appear to be affecting one of their biggest names in a positive way.

Since coming to the Blue Jays as a free agent in 2022, star pitcher Kevin Gausman has done just about everything fans of the team could’ve hoped for.

In four years, he’s gotten through every season with upwards of 30 starts (assuming he pitches at least once more for the team), and been among the MLB’s top starting pitchers over that time frame.

While Gausman’s All-Star season in 2023 stands out as his best so far as a Blue Jay, Thursday’s contest might’ve been his best single-game performance in Toronto to date.

Throwing a complete-game shutout, Gausman helped lead the Jays to a big 6-0 victory over the Houston Astros to help strengthen their lead to three games over the New York Yankees.

And while Gausman already had nine years of pitching experience in the majors before coming to Toronto, he admitted that Blue Jays fans have helped him come out of his shell a bit more on the mound.

“I’m not afraid to show my emotion now,” Gausman said Thursday, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “In past years, I tried to be boring out there, but I feel that pitching at home, everybody loves that you show a little emotion. I was definitely feeding off the crowd.”

With the Blue Jays having just 16 games left in the regular season before possibly hosting Game 1 of a playoff series next month, Gausman should have a few more high-profile stages to show out his emotion.

“His last two [games] have just been outstanding. He’s on a roll,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider added. “He seems to be peaking at the right time.”

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