TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays would have loved to celebrate a trifecta of positive results on Kentucky Derby day.
But after Daniel Schneemann’s first career grand slam home run in the ninth inning pushed the Cleveland Guardians to a 5-3 come-from-behind win, they settled for a return-to-form outing from starter Kevin Gausman and shortstop Bo Bichette.
Bichette led off with a solo blast into the left-field seats to snap a 63-game homer-less streak.
Last Sunday, Gausman matched a club record with an abysmal 53-pitch third inning against the New York Yankees. He issued five walks and departed before the inning was over.
On his way to the dugout, he shouted at umpire Chris Conroy and was ejected from the game.
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Gausman rebounded with a one-hit, nine-strikeout effort over six shutout innings.
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“You never really know until the game starts,” the 34-year-old Gausman said. “But I felt good. We did a good job with the staff talking and changing some things with my recovery this week. More importantly, I was able to go out there and give us a solid start, getting back to being my normal self.”
After giving up a two-out single to pesky Cleveland leadoff hitter Steven Kwan in the third inning, Gausman retired the final 10 batters he faced.
Bichette gave Gausman an early lead with his first-pitch homer. Bichette’s last long ball was on May 27, 2024.
“We were giving it to him a little bit,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “I think he’s relieved.”
As Bichette rounded second base he glanced skyward and there was plenty of exuberance waiting for him in the dugout.
“People were excited for me, for sure,” Bichette said. “I was excited for myself.”
Bichette also was excited for his veteran teammate, Gausman.
“He was great,” Bichette said. “He was what you expect of him most of the time.”
Gausman departed after 94 pitches, throwing a 97.8 miles per hour fastball to fan Nolan Jones with his final pitch.
“I thought Kev was great,” Schneider said. “We’ve been talking about it for five days. No one really knows the answer to why he had an inning like he had in New York.
“He had a lot of swing and miss (on Saturday). He kind of emptied the tank there in the sixth inning. But we weren’t expecting a diminished version of Kevin today.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press