Blue Jays waste great Kevin Gausman start in loss to Rockies

Article content

Any early season observations begin and end with the Blue Jays’ starting pitching, a group that has more arms unavailable than legitimate front-end pitchers.

Article content

When the likes of Kevin Gausman, or Dylan Cease — who was electric in his debut with the club — and even Max Scherzer, who went six innings to earn the win Tuesday, are on the mound it’s assured starting pitching won’t be an issue.

Article content

Article content

Eric Lauer has chipped in, even though the lefty wasn’t even in the club’s starting rotation plans until the injury bug began to take its toll.

The Colorado Rockies didn’t record their first hit off Gausman on Wednesday until the fifth inning.

The winner of Wednesday’s rubber match wasn’t determined until the late innings, almost pushing Gausman’s start to the backburner.

The fact is he was very good and no one should lose sight of Gausman’s performance. Equally factual was the Jays’ 2-1 loss to the Rockies in 10 innings as Toronto completed a 4-2 homestand to begin the 2026 season.

Article content

Article content

A beleaguered Brendon Little gave up the winning run and would be tagged with the loss.

What happened in extra innings?

The Jays had the top of the order in the home half of the 10th inning, which began on a George Springer pop out in foul territory.

Nathan Lukes grounded out to advance the ghost runner to third then up stepped Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose lineout to centre field ended the game.

Gausman was in complete control, even though the Jays weren’t in control of the afternoon, their biggest issue being an inability to cash in runners in scoring position.

Gausman went six complete innings, an outing featuring 10 strikeouts, zero walks and two hits surrendered.

Ultimately, he would earn a no-decision on a day he deserved much better.

Article content

Colorado tied the game in the eighth inning, a frame reliever Tommy Nance would soon like to forget.

Mind you, he would be bailed out when Mason Fluharty was summoned from the bullpen and promptly recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end an inning that could have easily gone sideways.

In the ninth, Jeff Hoffman was on the mound and was untouchable, striking out the side on 16 pitches.

For the most part, Toronto’s bats fell silent. Davis Schneider’s third-inning RBI single opened the scoring, but more runs should have crossed home plate.

It was up to Gausman to keep the Rockies at bay, a team that’s a far cry from last season’s edition when the Jays visited Coors Field and outscored Colorado 45-6 in a historical series sweep.

Article content

No series sweep at Rogers Centre, where school day at the ballpark attracted an announced crowd of 37,208.

The series rubber match was by far the most competitive.

The go-go Jays were on full display in the home of the third inning when they opened the scoring.

When Schneider hit an opposite-field single, it scored Myles Straw. George Springer, meanwhile, went from first to third, capped off by an adroit slide into the bag to avoid the tag. Schneider took second on the throw.

What is going on with Cody Ponce?

Prior to first pitch, it was revealed Cody Ponce — whose return to a big-league mound for the first time in five years was marred by a knee injury that landed the righty on the 15-day injured list — will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon based at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.

Article content

He specializes in sports medicine, knee, shoulder and elbow injuries and also serves as the team physician for the Dodgers and the NFL Rams.

The bottom line is that no definitive diagnosis on Ponce’s right knee has been determined, hence the visit to the L.A.-based specialist. There remains the possibility of Ponce requiring surgery.

When pitchers seeking a second opinion in the wake of an elbow injury, the go-to specialist is Dr. Keith Meister, head team physician for the Texas Rangers.

Also Wednesday, the Jays announced Angel Bastardo, a Rule 5 pick who was among the final cuts in camp, has returned to the Boston Red Sox.

The 23-year-old right-hander pitched 7.2 innings in seven spring training games, while posting a 4.70 ERA.

Finally, Thursday’s game pitting the Jays and host Chicago White Sox has been called because of expected bad weather and has been rescheduled for Friday (first pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET).

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

Article content