(Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
On Sunday, veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman took the ball for the Toronto Blue Jays in hopes of delivering a series win for the team.
Toronto had lost on Saturday in heartbreaking fashion, as the New York Yankees won the second game of the series on a walk-off base-hit by DJ LeMahieu.
And so, Gausman took the mound with a chance to stop the bleeding.
The 32-year-old had quite an impressive outing, shutting out the Yankees for seven innings, allowing just three hits, no walks, and striking out 11 batters.
With his 11-strikeout performance, he joined some elite company, becoming just the second pitcher in Blue Jays history to record an 11-strikeout performance at Yankee Stadium.
The first was Roger Clemens, who accomplished the feat back in 1997 during his brief stint with the Blue Jays.
#BlueJays pitchers with 11 or more Ks in a start at Yankee Stadium:
Roger Clemens (1997)
Kevin Gausman (Today) pic.twitter.com/FrmZUUYrkE
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 24, 2023
The Yankees scored a run late, but it wasn’t enough to stop Gausman and the Blue Jays.
Clemens pitched most of his career with the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees, as well as three seasons with the Houston Astros.
But the former MVP and seven-time Cy Young made a brief stop with the Blue Jays, joining the team in 1997, when he accomplished this impressive feat at the old Yankee Stadium.
The right-hander also pitched the 1998 season with Toronto.
Gausman was on point on Sunday and gave the Blue Jays seven strong innings, completely dominating a very powerful Yankees lineup and matching Clemens in an elite category.
With his dominant outing, the veteran right-hander earned his second win of the 2023 season and brought his ERA down to 2.84 on the year.
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