Most starting pitchers would kill for Kevin Gausman’s 2024 campaign — a 3.83 ERA, two complete games, and 162 strikeouts. For Gausman, it was unacceptable.

After an offseason of fixes, the veteran righty looked to start anew on Friday at Rogers Centre. Hoping to get back to the early 2020s form that earned him Cy Young votes and $110 million from the Blue Jays, the new (old?) Gausman flashed against Baltimore. Twirling six strong innings in the Blue Jays’ 8-2 win over the Orioles, Gausman gave hope Toronto’s ace may be back.

“I thought Kev, really from the first inning, kind of just said, ‘Okay, here I am,’ you know,” Manager John Schneider said. “His stuff was legit from the first pitch.”

It’s justifiable to look at Gausman’s age (34 as of Opening Day) and suggest the inevitable post-30 decline finally hit the splitter-chucking righty. If anything, standard MLB aging curves indicate Gausman survived decline longer than most. But the starter has a different explanation for his 2024 struggles: misplaced mechanics.

In 2024, Gausman’s release point dropped more than 3.5 inches compared to the 2022 season in which he led the American League in FIP and earned ninth in AL Cy Young voting. His average fastball velocity dropped a full mile per hour over the last two years (to 94 MPH), too.

Neither was an issue as Toronto’s second starter reached back for 96 MPH, spotting a high fastball by the bat of Jordan Westburg in the fourth for one of four strikeouts. Against Baltimore, Gausman’s velocity averaged out to 95.4 MPH, even higher than in 2022. Release point data isn’t available in real time.

A quality start against one of baseball’s top offences is a good debut, but the real test for Gausman’s 2025 is the marathon. The 34-year-old, listed at 205 pounds, has struggled to keep mass on over full seasons before, causing his body awareness and mechanics to “get out of whack,” Schneider said pregame. Expecting to lose the 20 pounds he drops over the course of every season, Gausman came into 2025 sturdier, preparing for a long campaign.

“Hopefully coming in heavier will allow me to be heavier at the end of the year,” Gausman said.

It’s one thing for Gausman to bring the velocity and strikeouts to one start in March, but Toronto and the righty are hoping this is the version of Gausman they’ll see for the next 29+ outings, too.

“It’s only one start,” Gausman said. “Let’s not get too crazy. But I feel good.”

Five singles, a walk, and two sacrifice flies. Toronto’s fourth-inning rally killed Baltimore with a million small cuts on Friday. The Blue Jays offence pieced together an astounding number of bouncing base hits, errors, and sac flies for a five-run inning to snatch the lead for good.

“Without home runs, I think those were really, really good at bats,” Schneider said.

For a franchise that finished with the fifth-fewest homers in baseball last year, that kind of run-manufacturing is a prerequisite to success. Yes, the Jays are hoping for a power rebound from Bo Bichette and brought in Anthony Santander for thump, but they still project to have just two players hit over 20 homers per Steamer. They’re not going to win games like Baltimore, smashing six bombs in an Opening Day romp. It’ll take a few more innings like Friday’s fourth — ones that start small, stay small, and end up with a five-spot — to push this offence to the playoffs.

The crowd erupted as a fly ball found Alan Roden’s outstretched glove in the second inning. Making his first MLB start in left field, the Wisconsin native bolted after a shallow fly ball, turning a sprint to a belly flop to a celebration as the white pill found glove. As Nathan Lukes handed over Roden’s hat, which fell off steps before, the rookie scraped himself off the artificial grass with a smile.

Three pitches later, Will Wagner dove to his right — another Blue Jays youngster flashing the leather. Also debuting at his position (third base), Wagner snared a rocket grounder, stood up, and fired across the diamond for the out.

It was the offensive upside of Roden and Wagner that earned them Opening Day roster spots, but the flashed fielding earned praise from Schneider on Friday. Pregame, the manager lauded Roden’s prowess in the outfield corners and said he’d likely be a part of late-game situations when defense is a priority. Wagner’s quick transition to third base earned his praise.

“The arm has been impressive,” Schneider said of Wagner. “That was kind of the question mark and he checked that box. It’s just going to come down to how good can he get there.”

Third base seemed like a bit of a hole for Toronto entering spring, with Wagner, Ernie Clement, and Orelvis Martinez all vying for time. If Wagner can stick at the hot corner defensively, his bat may earn him a real run at the position.

Lefty reliever Brendon Little exited Friday’s game in the eighth with a left lat cramp.

“Wanted to be careful,” Schneider said after the game. “Put him through some tests, we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

For a team that’s already put two relievers on the IL (Ryan Burr and Erik Swanson) and few left-handed pitchers to spare, a Little loss could be big. If a move is needed, Dillon Tate, Josh Walker, and Easton Lucas are the obvious call-up candidates already on the 40-man. Walker and Lucas are both lefties, but both have ERAs over six in limited MLB action.