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Toronto Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman Makes Franchise History With Complete Game Shutout

Kevin Gausman was dealing for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, allowing just five hits and one walk in a comfortable victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Sam Connon

Jun 8, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Jun 8, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
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Kevin Gausman may be going through an up-and-down campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays, but the veteran righty was certainly ready to go against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

Gausman tossed a wire-to-wire gem, powering the Blue Jays to a 7-0 victory that evened up the series. He didn't allow a hit until the there was one out in the third, and he didn't give up another until the bottom of the fifth.

The 33-year-old kept dealing through six, until the A's started to get some traction in the seventh. Gausman gave up two singles, then let both runners advance into scoring position, but he caught Tyler Soderstrom looking for a clutch inning-ending strikeout.

Gausman then made it through the eighth and ninth frames without running into much more trouble, closing out the first complete game shutout of his 12-year MLB career. The performance warranted a Gatorade bath from Gausman's teammates, plus a NSFW celebration from the man himself.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Gausman became the first Blue Jays pitcher to post a nine-inning shutout with 10-plus strikeouts and one or fewer walks since Ricky Romero in 2010. He is also the first Toronto right-hander to toss a complete game shutout since Roy Halladay in 2005.

It was far and away Gausman's best outing of 2024, although he already had five quality starts entering Saturday.

Gausman is 5-4 with a 4.00 ERA, 1.249 WHIP, 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings and -0.1 WAR this season. Those numbers have been dragged down drastically by just three poor performances on April 6, April 12 and May 11, though.

Between those three starts, Gausman had a 19.13 ERA and 3.500 WHIP. Across his other 10 appearances, Gausman now boasts a 2.04 ERA and 0957 WHIP.

Gausman is a two-time All-Star who spent time with the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants before arriving north of the border in 2022. He is 46-32 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.156 WHIP and 12.9 WAR since the start of 2020, placing top-10 in Cy Young voting in each of the last three seasons.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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