TORONTO – As Kevin Gausman took his first steps out of the home dugout to start the ninth inning, the crowd of 41,224 fans at Rogers Centre got up with him, giving the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher a standing ovation.
They understood what he was trying to accomplish.
Gausman pitched a complete game shutout in his best start of the season as Toronto blanked the Houston Astros 6-0 on Thursday. It was the second time in Gausman’s career he’s accomplished the feat and the first time he’s done it at home.
The gesture from the fans meant a lot to Gausman.
“It was pretty cool but I was trying to do my best to kind of tone it out,” said Gausman outside Toronto’s clubhouse. “Honestly, that ninth inning, it got so loud I couldn’t really hear my PitchCom. But I’ll take that.
“It’s a pretty cool environment. As a starting pitcher, you rarely get those opportunities to be in the game, to do it at home was special.”
Gausman (10-10) struck out nine, allowing just two hits in the fourth complete game of his career. He has had only one other shutout in his 13-year Major League Baseball career: a 7-0 win for Toronto against the Oakland Athletics on June 8, 2024.
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“Completely different. A lot more fans here, to be honest, that was a day game and so usually, a lot less fans,” said Gausman, comparing the two shutouts. “But today was a day game. I went out to warm up and the crowd was ready to go and fired up.
“I don’t know if everybody knew how important the game was, but they definitely let me know.”
The win helped the Blue Jays twofold. First, it extended their lead in the American League East over the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to 3 1/2 games, although both those teams played later Thursday. It also dealt an important loss to the Astros, who lead the AL West.
The top two teams in each league get a bye to the second round of MLB’s post-season. Toronto and the Detroit Tigers currently hold those spots, with Houston third. Beating the Astros helps add a cushion to that race.
“Honestly, I feel like every home game we’ve played for a while now has felt like a post-season game,” said Gausman. “Just the atmosphere, the energy in the building.
“I’m getting ready to start the game, and people are cheering for me before I even throw a pitch. That’s pretty cool. As a player, you hope to be in this point of the season where that’s still the case.”
Davis Schneider led off the second inning with a home run and then scored Daulton Varsho with a sacrifice fly in the fourth as Toronto’s (84-62) hitters responded to Gausman’s strong start.
“I feel like I was barely out on defence today,” said Schneider, who was in left field. “When a pitcher is rolling like that, you feel as a hitter that you can just go up there and just swing, no matter what.
“Obviously, if a guy’s kind of struggling and throwing pitches a little bit more, you’re gonna have to see a little bit more as a hitter. But when a guy’s kind of rolling like (Gausman), it frees you up as a hitter.”
Gausman struggled with the command of his splitter to start the season, with his earned-run average getting as high as 4.60 after he gave up seven runs in a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 19. He’s steadily improved since then, chipping his ERA down to 3.44 following Thursday’s victory.
“He’s professional. He gets it. He understands how important he is to the staff. He understands the value of starting pitching,” said Toronto manager John Schneider on Gausman’s turnaround. “He’s under the radar a little bit with some of the personalities we have in our rotation, but he’s just consistent.
“He’s shown that he can adapt. He’s shown that he can adjust as his career goes on.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2025.
TORONTO – Kevin Gausman pitched a complete game shutout in arguably his best start of the season as the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Houston Astros 6-0 on Thursday.
Gausman (10-10) struck out nine, allowing just two hits in the fourth complete game of his career.
Davis Schneider led off the second inning with a home run and then scored Daulton Varsho with a sacrifice fly in the fourth as Toronto (84-62) took two of three from the Astros to tighten its grip on first in the American League East.
Addison Barger went 2 for 4 at the plate, driving in two runs. Nathan Lukes also had an RBI double, while Varsho delivered a triple and an RBI single.
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Cristian Javier (1-3) struck out six over six innings for Houston (79-68) but allowed four runs on six hits and a walk. Lance McCullers Jr. allowed two runs over two innings of relief.
Takeaways
Astros: Houston was the better team for the first two games of the series, clearly motivated to hold on to its lead in the competitive AL West. But fielding gaffes and an inability to make contact off Gausman meant the Astros left Toronto with just one win and the Seattle Mariners hot on their heels.
Blue Jays: Gausman brought his best stuff from the start, getting two of his nine strikeouts in the first inning, and facing the minimum number of batters through three. His best outing to this point in the season was a six-inning gem in Detroit, where he allowed just one hit and a walk, striking out 10 over six scoreless innings.
Key moment
Barger could have gotten out twice in the first inning, but instead earned a double. His hit should have been caught as a pop fly, but three different Astros fielders failed to track it in the afternoon sun at Rogers Centre. He had been jogging to first, assuming he was out, when it dropped to the field. Barger picked up the pace but still could have been thrown out at second, except centre-fielder Mauricio Dubon had no one to throw to once he scooped up the ball.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11415357<![CDATA[Players acquitted in Hockey Canada sex assault trial can return to NHL on Dec. 1]]>Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:23:01 +0000
The five players acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial can return to the NHL when their suspensions end on Dec. 1, the NHL announced Thursday.
The players, who are all unrestricted free agents, can sign with a team on Oct. 15 as they wait for full reinstatement.
Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart were all charged with one count of sexual assault and pleaded not guilty when the trial opened in April.
MacLeod had also been charged with one count of being a party to the offences.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11411398/santander-to-begin-rehab-assignment-in-buffalo-2/<![CDATA[Santander to begin rehab assignment in Buffalo]]>Thu, 11 Sep 2025 18:05:43 +0000
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays know the runway to get Anthony Santander ready for the post-season is getting shorter.
Santander was set to be the designated hitter in three games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons starting on Thursday. After that, he’ll play a handful of games in left and right field for the Bisons.
“We’re kind of running out of time, you know what I mean?” said Toronto manager John Schneider on Thursday morning, hours before the Blue Jays hosted the Houston Astros. “We’ll see how he feels.”
Santander has been out with a shoulder injury since May 29. His rehab assignment in Buffalo, N.Y., was supposed to start earlier this week but was delayed due to back tightness.
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“He’ll play a good handful of games and hopefully get some timing going,” said Schneider. “We have a rough calendar draft, but yeah, he’s going to be playing a lot.
“I don’t think there’s many off days in that plan. Trying to get this thing going.”
Santander signed a five-year, US$92.5 million deal with Toronto in January after spending the first eight years of his career with the Baltimore Orioles.
The former all-star was batting .179 with 33 hits, six home runs, and 18 runs batted in over 50 games for the Blue Jays.
Santander is a switch hitter and it’s right-handed swing that has been bothering him. Schneider said the team would consider having him only bat left-handed, but it’s unlikely.
“It depends on how he’s doing left-handed. I think it’s tough to start him against the righty and just make a (lineup change) in the fifth inning or something like that, if he can’t hit right-handed,” said Schneider. “Ideally, he’s good for both. I think we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, and see how the games go, but see how the left-handed swings go.
“If that’s something we think is going to be good for us, then maybe.”
Toronto went into Thursday’s game with an 83-62 record, three games ahead of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for first in the American League East with 17 games left to play.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2025.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11409892/santander-to-begin-rehab-assignment-in-buffalo/<![CDATA[Santander to begin rehab assignment in Buffalo]]>Thu, 11 Sep 2025 17:16:03 +0000
TORONTO – Slugger Anthony Santander is progressing toward a return to the Toronto Blue Jays lineup.
Santander will be the designated hitter in three games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, starting tonight. After that, he’ll play a handful of games in left and right field for the Bisons.
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Santander has been out with a shoulder injury since May 29.
His rehab assignment in Buffalo, N.Y., was supposed to start earlier this week but was delayed due to back tightness.
Santander signed a five-year, US$92.5 million deal with Toronto in January after spending the first eight years of his career with the Baltimore Orioles.
