Former SF Giants ace reaches strikeout milestone

Kevin Gausman got the 1,500th K of his career on Tuesday night against his former team, the SF Giants, in Toronto.

Tuesday night, the SF Giants faced their former starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, who showed exactly why he struck out 306 hitters in his two seasons in black and orange. Gausman struck out eight batters in his first four innings of work, including a milestone whiff of LaMonte Wade Jr.

Kevin Gausman, Career 1,500th and 1,501st Ks. 🍾

8Ks thru 4.
And, none on Splitters (amazingly). pic.twitter.com/2oDpCO2QGP

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2023

Gausman got Wade to swing through a four-seam fastball for Strikeout No. 1500 of his career. After a nice ovation from the Toronto crowd, Gausman celebrated by striking out Joc Pederson immediately after for Strikeout No. 1501.

After his second stellar season in San Francisco, Gausman left the country to sign a five-year, $110 million deal with Canada's favorite team. Gausman was a combined 17-9 in pandemic-shortened 2020 and 2021, where he finished sixth in the National League Cy Young vote.

He hasn't missed a beat as a Blue Jay, striking out 205 in 174.2 innings last year while walking only 28. He's leading the American League in Fielding Independent Pitching this year after leading last season as well, and he has the most strikeouts in the AL this season.

Kevin Gausman struck out the side in the first inning against the Giants, who didn't offer him a contract after his 2 seasons with SFG.

No pitcher has been more valuable than Gausman (per Fangraphs WAR) since he left for Toronto on a 5-year, $110M deal. pic.twitter.com/tj0ukIXUJ8

— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) June 27, 2023

Gausman truly blossomed in 2020 with the Giants, a year after the Atlanta Braves released him and he had to remake himself as a reliever. The Giants encouraged him to focus on his four-seam and split-finger fastballs, essentially becoming a "two-pitch starter." Since then? 650 strikeouts in 531 innings.

However, Giants opener Ryan Walker and "reliever" Alex Wood actually had more strikeouts than Gausman early, combining for nine Ks through four innings. And while Gausman took a no-hitter into the fifth, the Giants scored off him when the first batter to get a hit, Thairo Estrada, scored on Patrick Bailey's double.

Patrick Bailey comes up with a clutch knock 👏 pic.twitter.com/1Bshwx0ySJ

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 28, 2023

1,500 strikeouts is a great milestone for Gausman. And it's reminder of how sometimes, Farhan Zaidi should have offered a multi-year deal. It's especially evident when the Giants have to start a reliever - this team would be really special with Gausman, whose deal looks like a huge bargain for the Jays.

Hard not to think about how the #SFGiants are probably going to spend the next month trying to find a pitcher as good as Kevin Gausman on the trade market. https://t.co/caEJxe9LjE

— Marc Delucchi (@maddelucchi) June 27, 2023