Has it sunk in yet that Kevin Gausman is no longer a member of the Toronto Blue Jays?

Not only that, the 35-year-old may face the Blue Jays at Wrigley Field on Thursday in his Chicago Cubs debut. Not quite as quick as “walk across the field to play for the other team,” but that’s a quick turnaround to see a once-fixture in the Blue Jays’ starting rotation suit up for the competition.

Much like Chris Bassitt before him when he signed with the Baltimore Orioles or Bo Bichette wearing the New York Mets pinstripes, it’s going to look a little odd not seeing Gausman in Blue Jays blue for the rest of the season. For those who are still nostalgic for Gausman’s time in Toronto, it seemed only fitting to name his top five games with the Blue Jays.

Late June of 2025 is when the Blue Jays really started to pick up steam and look like they might gain some ground on the New York Yankees for the AL East division lead. Thanks to a successful 5-2 road trip, the Blue Jays put themselves in a tremendous spot by the time they returned home to face the Yankees for a four-game set starting on Canada Day.

One of those road wins was a stellar performance by Gausman at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians on June 26, 2025. He nearly went the distance, limiting the Guardians to two hits over eight innings of work. The Guardians never got past second base, as Gausman only allowed two hits and no earned runs.

It was the first of many clutch performances by Gausman in 2025, both throughout the regular season and the postseason.

Blue Jays fans may not remember this Gausman start in particular, but they likely can recall the series. Yes, this was the trip to Oakland when Yusei Kikuchi mistakenly got in the way of Athletics’ first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, who was trying to make a catch by the visitors’ dugout.

The day before this mishap, Gausman was in complete control of the A’s during a complete game five-hit contest on June 8, 2024. Gausman walked away with an 86 Game Score, the fourth-highest single-game total of his career.

I mentioned this game as a highly underrated appearance by Gausman, and that stance still stands. Although he only had a Game Score of 60 in this game, Gausman limited one of the deadliest starting lineups to only three runs through 6.2 innings, in Game 2 of the World Series, no less.

Gausman cruised through the first six innings until he gave up a pair of solo home runs to Will Smith and Max Muncy in the seventh inning, which put the Dodgers ahead 3-1. Although he was tagged with the loss, Gausman posted a quality start on the grandest stage during the Fall Classic.

For whatever reason, Gausman didn’t receive much run support during the 2025 regular season or the playoffs, which is partially why he picked up only two wins during his eight postseason appearances with the Blue Jays.

Knowing the Blue Jays’ penchant for falling apart at Tropicana Field, any time a visiting starting pitcher from Toronto emerges with a victory, it’s cause for celebration. During his debut season with the Blue Jays, Gausman went into the “house of horrors” and shut down the Rays in a spectacular eight-inning, one-hit affair.

Gausman held the Rays off the board for eight innings as he protected a one-run lead, finishing with 10 strikeouts on the day, capturing 17 whiffs. The Blue Jays chipped in a few runs at the end, and Toronto walked away with a 3-1 victory, splitting an unorthodox two-game series at the Trop.

Gausman has only four complete games in his career, with three of them as a member of the Blue Jays. He saved his best for last in 2025 when the Colorado native blanked the Houston Astros in a complete game two-hit masterpiece, just one pitch short of a Maddux (a complete game shutout in less than 100 pitches).

Gausman retired the Astros’ one through nine in order over the first three innings, allowed a pair of singles in the fourth inning, and was nearly perfect the rest of the game, save for a ninth-inning walk. At the end of the day, Gausman’s line read as nine innings pitched, two hits allowed, nine strikeouts, and one walk surrendered over 100 total pitches.

Given this was down the stretch for the Blue Jays as they fought tooth and nail for the division lead, this was one of the better regular season pitching performances you’ll ever see by a starting pitcher. Gausman understood the assignment from the first pitch and took care of business all by himself against the Astros; no assistance from the bullpen was needed.

Gausman’s 91 Game Score that day remains the best game ever pitched by him in his 14-year career in the big leagues.