Jays starter Kevin Gausman was completely dominating, almost, in win over Red Sox

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This article was published 21/04/2022 (1298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BOSTON—Kevin Gausman coulda been the first pitcher in baseball to throw a complete game this season.

Kevin Gausman coulda been the first Blue Jays pitcher to throw a complete game since Marcus Stroman accomplished the feat on April 23, 2017 — Stro’s second complete game that month.

Kevin Gausman coulda pitched his first complete game since 2014, and the second of his career.

But no. He gave up one little ninth-inning blooper on one little 93-m.p.h. fastball over the plate, and manager Charlie Montoyo was leaping out of the dugout at the crack of the bat.

This is how pitchers are coddled circa 2022, whether they like it or not. The skipper will pull a sublimely lights-out starter even when he’s in the midst of a perfect game (Clayton Kershaw, hit the showers). And sure, after a shortened spring training, a club wants to baby those precious and prohibitively expensive starter’s arms with pitch counts. Then analytics raises its geeky head and more reasons are spouted for the yank.

But this regime of the Jays, it says here, has always been risk averse and pitcher cosseting.

The shocker on Thursday afternoon was that Gausman was actually given a one-batter grace in the ninth inning, which turned into a one-pitch leadoff single by Trevor Story to right field. And bye-bye, Kevvy G. Eight-plus innings, 88 pitches, 70 strikes.

This man was dealing, no lie. He had his splitter and fastball and even his slider clicking.

“That’s an ace for you,” a delighted Montoyo said. “That split was nasty, locating all his pitches, throwing strikes.”

Toronto nevertheless had to hang on through the rest of that hair-raising ninth frame, as Jordan Romano closed it out with his MLB-leading seventh save. The final: 3-2 for the visitors, a third series won, and sole possession of first place in the American League East.

“I was joking with the guys that if you’re still in the game and they’re singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the eighth inning, you’ve done something right,” a composed and not-at-all-ticked-off Gausman said afterward, even if it looked like he had been on a centimetre-long leash.

Montoyo, who pantomimed thumping heart breathlessness when he stepped up to the scrum wall in the wake of the team’s eighth win in 13 games — because it was stomach-heaving save for Romano on his 29th birthday — said the players had prevented him from getting anywhere near Gausman in the dugout after the eight inning.

“The whole team. El Barrio was right there, next to Gausman. Stay away from him! Stay away from him!”

The Boys of the Barrio, as the Jays in the corner, mostly Latinos, call themselves, all fun and puppyish games most of the time, were dead serious in this moment as Gausman’s Praetorian Guard.

Yet Montoyo wasted no time when Gausman surrendered that eighth hit — none of the others had done any damage — and went out to escort his lanky right-hander from the mound.

“He just told me, ‘Good job,’ ” Gausman said.

Of course, in a loud and rollicking Fenway Park, it was near impossible to hear a thing.

Gausman never harboured any doubt that he would come out for the ninth, with Toronto up 3-0. Though, weirdly, the bullpen door did open briefly — teasing, like — before shutting again and Gausman came bounding out to the bump.

“In my mind, that was my game, so I was going out there in the ninth to get the three outs,” he said flatly. “That was my goal. Obviously it was a good first pitch (for) Story and he hit it the other way. That could easily have been a ground ball to shortstop and I’m still in the game.”

Gausman didn’t resist or grumble when Montoyo reached him. What’s the point? Who’s to know if it was even Montoyo’s call, with the suspicion the manager is constantly on mannequin strings.

“I would loved to have stayed,” Gausman said, “but, at the same time, if we’re up 5-0 I’m probably staying in that game. But that it’s three runs and listen, in the AL East, three runs can be cut in half really quickly.

“As you saw in that ninth inning, they put two runs together real quick. Obviously I would have liked to stay in there — that’s my mindset — but I also understand we have really good guys out in the bullpen that are itching to get the ball in that spot. Being that Romey is fresh, I feel they wanted to bring him in and that’s fine.”

Montoyo insisted it would have been cruel and unusual punishment to summon Romano with two on and nobody out, which assumes that Gausman would not have got the next Bosox batter out.

“Because I’ve got the best closer in baseball waiting out there,” Montoyo said. “It’s not fair for me to bring Romano with two on in Boston, to have to face (Xander) Bogaerts and (Alex) Verdugo and all those guys. So I gave (Gausman) a chance, hitter by hitter. If he would have gotten the first guy then he would have stayed for the second guy.”

Then he had to sweat through a rather un-Romano-like wobbly balance of the ninth: With Story on first, the closer walked Rafael Devers on five pitches, then gave up a double to Bogaerts, scoring Story, with Devers moving to third, then coming across the plate on a 6-3 groundout by Verdugo.

The tying run was 90 feet away from home with one out and the Jays doubtless experiencing some Fenway PTSD from heartbreak comeback ninths in the past. But Romano bore down, getting groundball outs from Bobby Dalbec and Jackie Bradley Jr.

“I don’t think it was a higher heart rate there,” Romano said later, after giving it some thought. “I just knew I needed to lock it in and make some pitches there.”

This may be the toughest ballpark for a closer to enter the game in the ninth, with a runner on. “Maybe some extra adrenalin,” Romano acknowledged of getting himself into a jam and then working out if it. “You know what? I guess it shouldn’t be that difficult. Maybe I made it a little more difficult on myself, thinking about it. Playing here is never easy. It’s just cool we get two out of three.”

Romano has now converted 30 consecutive save opportunities, dating back to last season, a franchise record and the longest active streak in baseball.

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Montoyo, however, cast a bit of a pending pall over the glow.

“Jordan is due one of these days for something to happen.”

Joy-killer.

Correction — April 22, 2022: This column was edited to correct that Marcus Stroman pitched a complete game in 2017, not 2007.

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno