TORONTO – Kevin Gausman’s final batter on Sunday was emblematic of his season.

The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander fired a first-pitch strike to DJ LeMahieu and then quickly pinned a 1-2 count on the New York Yankees’ No. 8 hitter. 

LeMahieu fought back, though, fouling off a few pitches and working himself into a full count before ripping a fastball to centre field that drove in a run and chased Gausman from the game.

That fifth-inning at-bat seemed all too familiar during what’s been an inconsistent season for the veteran hurler. He got ahead in the count but simply couldn’t put away the opposing hitter. 

Gausman was relieved by left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who promptly allowed a double from Trent Grisham off the right-centre field wall that cashed in two more runs, closed the book on Gausman’s line and essentially put the game out of reach in what was an eventual 8-1 Yankees win over the Blue Jays in front of 38,534 at Rogers Centre. 

In total, Gausman allowed seven runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings while issuing a season-high five walks and striking out seven batters.

“I think they had a good game plan against me,” Gausman said. “And it was a tight strike zone, too, so I didn’t think that helped me at all, but [the walks were] not characteristic of me. I pride myself in being on the attack and not giving away free bases.”

Following two dominant seasons with the Blue Jays, Gausman just hasn’t quite looked right in 2024. He was sidelined for most of spring training with right shoulder fatigue and instead of beginning the season on the injured list, the right-hander opened the campaign at the back end of the rotation and used his first few starts to build himself up.

The Blue Jays lacked starting pitching depth and Gausman felt the need to step up, a decision he later expressed regret over.

Ultimately, the result has been a season that can be classified as uneven. There were highs, like the complete-game shutout he authored in Oakland earlier this month, but there have also been plenty of lows. 

Gausman described both his fastball and splitter as “inconsistent” this year and says he needs more out of the latter pitch. He tossed 38 splitters on Sunday and they averaged 19 inches of horizontal break, up from a season average of 16, but Gausman wants the offering to be sharper north to south.

“I think it needs to carry the zone a little bit more,” said Gausman. “The metrics on it are really good right now. It’s moving 20 inches and I think it’s maybe moving a little too much and not having as much vertical break as I need. And that’s what I need to carry the zone. And so, for whatever reason that is, my split hasn’t carried the zone as much this year as it did last year.”

Gausman’s splitter is his trademark. He’s among the pitchers responsible for its league-wide renaissance over the past few years and his relationship with it is such that he knows its every nuance. The right-hander says its velocity this season is playing a factor in its effectiveness — the pitch is averaging 85.5 m.p.h. in 2024, down from 86.3 m.p.h. last year.

“I think I need to throw it harder,” said Gausman. “Throwing it harder will get the vertical back. You look at over the course of my career, the splits that are slow are usually hit pretty hard. So, I need to find a way to get back to throwing that 86, 88.”

Without his normal splitter, Gausman has been striking out fewer batters and that’s made him more susceptible to damage, especially with runners on base. After leading the American League in punchouts last season and posting a 31.1 strikeout rate, the right-hander has seen that figure plummet to just 23 per cent. 

Gausman got off to a rough start in the first inning on Sunday when he allowed a single to Juan Soto and then a 423-foot home run to Aaron Judge. The Yankees tacked on two more runs in the second on LeMahieu’s run-scoring single and Soto’s bases-loaded walk. It was the third walk Gausman surrendered in the inning.

When his outing was over, Gausman’s season ERA had risen to 4.75, a figure that’s well above the other regular members of Toronto’s rotation — Chris Bassitt (3.24), Jose Berrios (3.38) and Yusei Kikuchi (4.18).

Meanwhile, Gausman’s counterpart on Sunday, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, stifled the Blue Jays over his five innings, allowing just one run on three hits, walking one and striking out six. It was Cole’s third start of the season after missing two-and-a-half months due to nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow.

Of note was the very late addition to the lineup of Soto, who missed Saturday’s game with a bruised right hand. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he was informed of the change from Yankees manager Aaron Boone and noted he’s never seen a player added to lineup so close to game time.

“I got the text from Boone at 1:19 [p.m.], I believe it was, and [he] told us [it was] a different lineup,” Schneider said. “Didn’t affect Kev at all. We called down [to the bullpen] as soon as we found out. Nothing really fazes Kev when he’s getting ready. [But] that was latest we’ve seen so far.”

Schneider also said that Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who took a 96.9-m.p.h. fastball from Cole to the pinkie and ring finger of his right hand and was removed in the eighth inning, underwent an X-ray that showed no breaks or fractures.

“Hopefully he’s good to go tomorrow and expect him to be,” said the manager. 

The win allowed the Yankees (54-32) to split the four-game series with the Blue Jays, who fell to 38-45 and remain in last place in the AL East.

Next up for the Blue Jays is Monday’s Canada Day contest with the Houston Astros in the opener of another four-game set.