TORONTO – Twice this World Series, Kevin Gausman has gone out and delivered a truly dazzling performance on the mound.
For five of his six innings pitched on Friday night at Rogers Centre, not only was Gausman perfect with no hits or walks allowed, he was downright filthy. He struck out eight batters through three innings, tying Corey Kluber (2016 Game 1) for the record for most strikeouts in the first three innings of a World Series game, with a splitter that had Dodgers hitters absolutely baffled.
But just like Game 2, one bad inning was all it took for Los Angeles to take the lead for good, this time to stave off elimination. After an intentional walk issued to Shohei Ohtani with two outs in the third set up runners at first and second, the Dodgers plated three runs on a pair of RBI knocks by Will Smith and Mookie Betts.
Those were the only three runs they scored, and it was all they needed with their juggernaut starter in Yamamoto once again shutting down the Blue Jays over six stellar innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 loss.
“Both times we’ve faced each other, it’s been a pretty good pitched game on both sides,” Gausman said. “I mean, he’s pretty good, especially right now. He’s pretty locked in. We had a chance in the sixth there, but that’s the game. On to tomorrow.”
Toronto’s pesky offense did its best to try to get to Yamamoto in the sixth. They mounted a two-out rally of their own with runners on first and second and were seemingly one swing away from blowing the roof off the entire building. But Yamamoto squelched that threat, with a strikeout of Daulton Varsho.
As Gausman has painfully found out over the past week, the margin for error when going opposite Yamamoto is dangerously thin. His undoing was the result of really the only two “bad” pitches he threw all night, a 1-0 splitter down in the zone to Smith for an RBI double, and an elevated fastball that Betts, who has struggled for most of this Series, pulled to left for a two-run single.
“Trying to go up and away there to Mookie and left it more middle-up,” Gausman said. “If that’s higher, it’s probably either a strikeout or a pop fly. Same thing with Smith. Trying to throw a split down and away. Kind of trying to throw the same pitch that I struck him out with in the first. It just leaked to his back foot and he dropped his hands on it. He’s a really good hitter. I know to stay away from that part of the zone with him.”
No matter how it ends up, Gausman should walk away from his first World Series with nothing to be ashamed of. The 34-year-old right-hander went toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow with one of the best pitchers in the game twice. He doesn’t have a win to show for it, but he’s provided an ace-like effort each time out.
“I don’t want to overlook what Kev did, too,” said manager John Schneider. “Coming out of the chute the way he did, and just the one inning again. They had a couple of big swings. … We were damn close to getting it done.”
The good news for these Blue Jays is they get another crack at it in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday. And who knows? Given how dominant Gausman has looked in this World Series – 14 strikeouts and two walks in 12 2/3 innings – he might find himself coming out of the bullpen if the situation calls for it.
“Maybe even Kev,” Schneider said when asked about pitcher availability for Game 7. “It will be all hands on deck.”
If that call comes, you already know what Gausman’s answer will be.
“Yeah,” Gausman said. “I mean, it’s Game 7. I’ll do whatever. I need to get in the weight room right now if that’s the case. Get a run in and whatnot. But I’ll go straight to the cold tub after this to be ready. All hands on deck tomorrow, for sure.”
