Kevin Gausman notches first career CG shutout at the perfect time for the Blue Jays

In a time when the Toronto Blue Jays needed all the motivation they could get after learning that pitcher Alek Manoah will be out for the season on Friday, they certainly got it big time from one of their main leaders on the team the very next day.

Blue Jays’ staff ace Kevin Gausman put the team on his shoulders and delivered an unbelievable pitching performance on Saturday. After struggling for much of the 2024 season, posting an uncharacteristic 4-4 record with a 4.60 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, Gausman showed once again why he was one of the best in the business by tossing a 7-0 complete game shutout over the Oakland Athletics. He threw a total of 109 pitches with 76 going for strikes, limiting the Athletics to just five hits and one walk, while matching his season high with ten strikeouts over his nine unflappable innings.

More impressively though, believe it or not, was the fact that the feat Gausman just accomplished was monumental for him because it was the first complete game shutout of his career. In addition, it was also his first complete game since ten years ago in 2014 when he led the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees in a five-inning shortened game on July 13.

For someone that has been around in the league for so long, and given his dominating pedigree in recent years, it is actually quite surprising that Gausman hasn’t done it more often. Nevertheless, being able to do it for the first time must meant a lot for both the team and the 12-year veteran.

In his post-game interview with Sportsnet, Gausman commented on the feeling he had after recording his first career shutout:

“You don’t see many of them anymore. And so, yeah, to get the first one in my career ten years later after it started makes it that much more special I think,” Gausman said.