What 53-pitch inning means for Gausman’s next steps

TORONTO — Two days after throwing a Toronto Blue Jays record 53 pitches in a single inning, Kevin Gausman was understandably “a little sore” Tuesday afternoon.

Considering the substantial physical toll of throwing so many consecutive pitches, some soreness was likely inevitable, yet both Gausman and Blue Jays manager John Schneider expressed optimism that he’d recover smoothly.

Even so, the Blue Jays are taking some precautions ahead of Gausman’s next start, and the unorthodox decision to let him throw 53 pitches against the Yankees Sunday caught the attention of other teams. Most importantly, though, Gausman now feels good enough to start against the Guardians this coming Saturday.

“A lot of pitches in one inning, so it’s not ideal,” he said. “It’s weird, because I’m in a kind of unchartered territory. I’ve never thrown 53 pitches in an inning, so I really just don’t know. I’m just going to listen to my body a little bit more in between these starts.”

The Blue Jays will ask Chris Bassitt to start Friday on four days’ rest, allowing Gausman to recover a little longer before starting Saturday on five days’ rest. Gausman expects that to help a little, but 53 consecutive pitches takes a toll regardless.

“It’s not ideal at all,” Schneider acknowledged. “If it was later in the game, he’s not getting to that point and if his pitch game was higher, he’s not getting to that point. It’s taxing, and the most he’s thrown in an inning obviously. It was just a weird set of circumstances. And 53 in one inning out of 71 (total) is one of the main reasons we’re pushing him back. We want to make sure he’s recovering okay.”

Going into the third inning Sunday, Gausman had thrown only 18 pitches — a promising start on an afternoon the Blue Jays were playing a double-header. Ideally, he would have been able to sustain that momentum and cover six or seven innings, ensuring that the team’s bullpen remained relatively fresh for Game 2.

“It’s just kind of understood as a starter when there’s a double-header,” Gausman said. “For the first starter you definitely want to get some length so that for Game 2 you can go to the bullpen earlier if you need to.” 

In theory it’s a sound approach, but in practice the third inning played out much differently. Here’s how it unfolded: 

Jasson Dominguez: fly ball out (1 pitch)
Oswaldo Cabrera: walk (7)
Ben Rice: walk (6)
Aaron Judge: single (3)
Cody Bellinger: sac fly (8)
Paul Goldschmidt: walk (6)
Jazz Chisholm Jr.: walk (4)
Anthony Volpe: walk (9)
Austin Wells: double (9)

At times, home plate umpire Craig Conroy missed calls that cost Gausman strikes — a 1-1 pitch to Cabrera, for instance, or the first pitch to Bellinger. But those mistakes were combined with a rare lapse of command on Gausman’s part. As the inning progressed and his fatigue increased, he had even more trouble finding the strike zone on his way to five walks.

“To be honest, just a lot of really uncompetitive pitches,” Gausman said. “It’s not like I was around the zone a lot (and) because I wasn’t around the zone, I wasn’t going to get those pitches (called strikes). So as a pitcher, you’ve got to show them that you’re going to be consistent, and then they’ll give you a little bit more.”

Instead, Gausman admits he lost his cool and his command. He tried to be too fine with his pitches, couldn’t find the zone and a 1-0 lead became a 6-1 deficit. Since no pitcher’s going to take himself out of a game, the call fell to Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker, who let him keep going.

Eventually, Gausman tied the franchise record of 53 pitches in an inning first set by Woody Williams in 1998. No pitcher anywhere has thrown as many pitches in an inning since Pirates left-hander Cam Vieaux did so in 2022, his lone MLB season. Afterwards, executives in rival front offices took note of the unusual decision to let a pitcher continue so long. 

While veterans like Gausman certainly deserve some leeway, some rival executives thought the Blue Jays pushed him too far. Two walks in a row were evidence that his command wasn’t there, and after three consecutive free passes, there was no debate anymore. By then, he was at 44 pitches yet the Blue Jays kept him in.

Some in the industry believe those nine added pitches to Wells added too much risk for limited reward. Research on the team side shows that fatigue increases dramatically when so many pitches are consolidated into a single inning rather than spread over the course of hours. As fatigue increases, there’s also the potential for injury — a possibility Gausman appears to have avoided.

Still, the team will proceed with some added care now. As of Tuesday, the Blue Jays didn’t have any plans to put Gausman through any additional testing, but Schneider planned to talk regularly with the 34-year-old as the week progresses.

“He’s pretty good at what he does in between starts,” the manager said. “We’re not going to, like, have a different set of experts come in and make sure that he’s just as strong. I think he does a good job of understanding how he feels.”

As for Gausman, he’s mindful of not overdoing it in his upcoming bullpen session, but after walking five Yankees, he’d like to regain some feel for the strike zone even if he throws fewer pitches than normal during his upcoming side session.

For now, the Blue Jays are hopeful they’ve avoided more serious consequences and that a little caution now can make up for the added toll of the weekend.

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