Blue Jays, Tigers start pitchers on rebound from tough outings

Jack Flaherty still is seeking his first victory of the season. Kevin Gausman is coming off his worst outing of the campaign.

Those two veteran right-handers will be the mound opponents in the finale of a three-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays and host Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Flaherty (0-4, 5.73 ERA) will be making his 10th start of the season. He couldn't even get out of the fourth inning of his last start, a 10-2 loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday. Flaherty allowed three runs on six hits and issued three walks.

"Just too many long at-bats," he said. "I've got to find a way to shorten those at-bats, get some quicker outs and get us back into the dugout."

Flaherty has walked 29 batters in 37 2/3 innings this season. Two seasons ago, Flaherty walked 38 batters in 162 innings.

"I know he had a hard time finishing at-bats," manager A.J. Hinch said after Flaherty's last outing. "It looked like he was getting into counts and they kept working long at-bats and taking advantage of a few pitches. They definitely made him work."

Flaherty hasn't lasted more than five innings in his last five starts. He's been tagged with the loss in three of his last four games.

He has enjoyed good success against Toronto during his career. In six starts, he's 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA.

Gausman (2-3, 3.86) recorded his 2,000th career strikeout in his last start against Tampa Bay on Monday. He received a big ovation from the home crowd.

Otherwise, the start was not a source of pride. He surrendered seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He had not given up more than four runs in any of his previous starts.

"I've had some really cool moments here as a player, where the fans have made you feel some love," he said of the strikeout mark. "I just wish I would have been able to enjoy it a little bit more. Giving up six runs isn't fun, but, yeah, it was a cool moment, and I'll definitely remember that forever."

The 2,000th strikeout came against Tampa Bay's catcher, Hunter Feduccia, in the fourth inning.

"My career has been ups and downs and been very different, and not all sunshine and rainbows," he said. "So I take those things very seriously. And I'm honored by it for sure."

Gausman will now concentrate on getting his first win in four starts. His last victory was April 25 against Cleveland.

He is quite familiar with the Tigers. He has started 14 games during his career against Detroit, posting a 4-3 record and 3.16 ERA.

The game on Sunday will determine the series. Detroit won the opener 3-2 on Friday night via Spencer Torkelson's walk-off RBI single. The Blue Jays turned that around on Saturday, winning 2-1 in extra innings on Daulton Varsho's RBI single.

Detroit's Riley Greene extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning single. It's the longest active streak in the majors.

--Field Level Media