Kevin Gausman hopes to bounce back when Jays face Rockies

The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking for right-hander Kevin Gausman to rebound from a shaky start when he faces the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

The Blue Jays will be starting the second three-game series of their home schedule, which started with two wins over the Seattle Mariners. Toronto missed a series sweep by losing 6-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday.

The Rockies, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-3 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. They have lost four of five.

Gausman (0-1, 9.53 ERA) lasted 1 1/3 innings during his start last Saturday against the New York Yankees in his second outing of the season. He allowed six runs (five earned), four hits, two walks and two home runs. Gausman threw 51 pitches, just 29 for strikes.

There was a dip in velocity. His fastball averaged 91.4 mph and his splitter 86.3.

Gausman's spring training was shortened by shoulder fatigue. He looked better in his first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays when he struck out six and allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.

"I'm obviously still building up, but I think it was just the first start out of Florida, it's pretty cold and I just couldn't get going," Gausman said after his start against the Yankees. "Couldn't get my rhythm. A good team is going to take advantage of that. They kept the pressure on me, had to start throwing fastballs and obviously my pitch count had a lot to do with why I came out of the game."

He was not alarmed by a drop in average velocity of about 3 mph.

"Threw bad pitches to good hitters," he said. "So wasn't surprised by the outcome. ... I really don't look at my velo, to be honest. That's the running joke, I'm 88-98. They don't know what they're going to get; I don't know what they're going to get, either. I think it was the cold weather more than anything."

Gausman will oppose Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner (0-1, 3.27). Feltner is coming off a start in which he struck out a career-best 10 batters in a no-decision against Tampa Bay.

"I don't feel any pressure (for strikeouts)," he said. "But I want to be the guy that eats innings and puts up zeroes in those innings, as well. So I want to be out there for as long as I can. If strikeouts happen, then they happen."

He is the first Rockies pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts since Kyle Freeland fanned 10 on Aug. 21, 2021.

"He threw outstanding," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "The ball-strike ratio the first couple of innings was not very good. All of a sudden he turned it around and started throwing a ton of strikes. Arguably one of the best outings of his career."

Feltner made 10 starts in 2023 for the Rockies, going 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA. He missed most of the season after he was hit in the head with a comebacker on May 13 and suffered a fractured skull. He returned Sept. 19 and made two starts.

Gausman faced Colorado once last season, allowing three runs over four innings (six hits, three walks, five strikeouts). In seven career starts against Colorado, he is 2-1 with a 4.46 ERA.

Feltner has not faced Toronto.

—Field Level Media