Blue Jays rotation expects better, regardless of results: ‘It’s on us’

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TORONTO — This time, Kevin Gausman’s tone was expected. The Toronto Blue Jays’ starting pitcher allowed three homers and six earned runs — both season highs — in an 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. It was the familiarity of his words that surprised.

“I need to find a way to get better,” Gausman said. “Be better for this team.”

That sentiment, nearly to the word, was what Chris Bassitt conveyed after his May 8 start against the Los Angeles Angels — a game the Blue Jays won. It was in line with Gausman’s words after his previous outing in Seattle — another Toronto win. Lately, the game outcomes haven’t moved Toronto’s starting staff. The rotation expects better, holding themselves responsible for the Blue Jays’ 2025 fortunes.

“I think we are only as good as our pitchers are,” Gausman said.

Before Gausman joined the Blue Jays, he pitched in the postseason three times. The starting rotations for those three postseason teams never ranked worse than 12th in ERA. It’s a fact he doesn’t forget. It’s something Gausman and Toronto’s other starting pitchers talk about.

“All the best teams I’ve ever been on that have made the postseason, it’s all because our pitching staff is really good,” Gausman said.

Toronto’s rotation ranks 27th in MLB after Thursday’s loss, with a 4.63 ERA. Toronto’s starters aim for quality starts — at least six innings pitched with three or fewer runs allowed. Lately, the rotation has fallen short of that goal, pitching just five QS in the last 20 outings. On the season, the Jays rank 18th in baseball with 13 quality starts.

“Quality start, go get it,” Bassitt said. “You don’t got to be perfect. This offense is good enough. A quality start is going to win a lot of games, so just go do your job.”

In all three contests against the Rays this week, Toronto’s starters have made it into the sixth inning but failed to finish the frame, unable to fulfill their own expectation. It’s an old-school mentality, manager John Schneider said, but it’s the same approach that carried the Blue Jays to the playoffs in 2023, the last time they made the postseason. Toronto’s rotation pitched the fifth-most innings in baseball that year. Bassitt, Gausman and José Berríos all threw at least 185 innings and posted an ERA of 3.7 or lower.

This year, the heavy innings and low ERA aren’t guaranteed. Bowden Francis is the only regular rotation member under 31 years old. A revolving fifth rotation spot, with Max Scherzer recovering from a thumb injury, cuts into rest days. Only Bassitt has an ERA under 4.0 in Toronto’s starting staff.

When Toronto’s offence struggled in April, the Blue Jays’ rotation still took ownership of losses. After an April 27 game against the Yankees, with Toronto scoring just one run, Bassitt said it was he who “deserved the loss.”

“Pardon my French,” Bassitt said. “I don’t give a s— about the offence when it comes to how I’m pitching.”

Now, with the Blue Jays’ lineup averaging 5.15 runs per game in May, the burden on Toronto’s rotation should be lighter. But the Blue Jays’ starting pitchers know what it takes to get to October, charging themselves with the task.

“Everybody knows our (rotation) depth isn’t crazy,” Gausman said. “You know, it’s the guys that we have here. You know, it’s on us. We gotta do it. We gotta put it together.”

(Photo of Kevin Gausman: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

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