Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman continues his historic start to 2026

Kevin Gausman has looked better than ever in his first two starts of 2026. For the first time in his career, Gausman was the Opening Day starter for the Toronto Blue Jays and he made it count, setting a franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day with 11. In six innings of work, he only gave up one hit, a solo home run to Shea Langeliers in the fourth inning, as The Blue Jays started their season with a bang, walking off the Athletics for a 3-2 win.

Gausman's dominant start became even more historic as the opening weekend continued. The following day, Dylan Cease struck out 12 in his Blue Jays debut. Gausman and Cease became the first teammates since 1901 to strike out at least 11 in the first two games of the season.

Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman continues his historic start to 2026

Eric Lauer gave the Blue Jays their third strong start of the season, striking out nine in the third and final game against the Athletics. Along with a few good appearances from the bullpen, the Blue Jays struck out 50 batters in their opening series against the Athletics, setting a new MLB record for the most strikeouts in the first three games of a season. It's also the most strikeouts in Blue Jays history in a three-game series. 50 strikeout to start the Blue Jays' 50th season; how fitting.

Gausman kept his historic start going in his second start on Wednesday. In the Blue Jays' final game against the Colorado Rockies, Gausman struck out ten in six scoreless innings, while only giving up two hits. Gausman stands alone as the only pitcher since at least 1900 to have ten or more strikeouts and no walks in their first two starts in a season. His 21 strikeouts are also the most by any pitcher so far this season.

Gausman's strong form is especially important to the Blue Jays at a time when their starting rotation is struggling with injuries. Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and José Berrios all started the season on the injured list. If that's not enough, Cody Ponce sprained his ACL on Monday in his first MLB appearance since 2021 and will miss significant time. With so many starting pitchers sidelined with injuries, there's extra pressure on the Blue Jays bullpen to pick up the slack. Being able to rely on Gausman takes some of the strain off the bullpen.

Unfortunately for Gausman, he's still waiting for his first win despite his historic start. Jeff Hoffman gave up a game-tying home run to Langeliers in the ninth inning of the Blue Jays' home opener. Andrés Giménez walked it off for Toronto in the bottom of the ninth, meaning the win went to Hoffman. In Wednesday's game against the Rockies, the Blue Jays led 1-0 until the eighth inning when Tommy Nance gave up an RBI single to Troy Johnston. The Blue Jays lost 2-1 in ten innings.

Gausman's back-to-back no-decisions have been frustrating due to the lack of run support from the rest of the team. In Wednesday's game, the Blue Jays went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Blue Jays had an opportunity to blow the game open in the third inning, when they had the bases loaded and one out. However, Kazuma Okamoto struck out, and Alejandro Kirk followed up with a lineout to second base.

Gausman's strong start is especially important for him in the final year of his five-year $110 million contract with the Blue Jays. Gausman has already expressed interest in staying in Toronto past the 2026 season. It's also important for the Blue Jays in their quest to get back to the World Series. Despite losing their series against the Rockies, the Blue Jays have had a good start to 2026, and Gausman has arguably been the brightest spot on the team to start the season.