The Blue Jays, put plainly, struggle at Tropicana Field. After a 5-1 loss in Monday’s series opener against the Rays, Toronto is now carrying a .367 win percentage at the park since 2016, second worst of any stadium they’ve played in during that time (Cleveland’s Progressive Field, .333).
“It's not the building, it's not the turf, it's not the roof, it's not the lights, it's not anything,” manager John Schneider said Monday. “[The Rays] are a good team. You’ve got to play better is the bottom line.”
Furthermore, the injury-riddled Blue Jays have lost two in a row and are staring up at the Yankees and Rays in the AL East. Fortunately for Toronto, Kevin Gausman and his 3.10 ERA toe the rubber for Tuesday’s 6:40 p.m. ET first pitch in St. Petersburg.
The Blue Jays have won four of Gausman’s seven starts this year, with the righty often serving as the stopper the club needs. The 35-year-old also enters the game only six strikeouts shy of becoming the sixth active pitcher to reach 2,000 in his career (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Gerrit Cole and Yu Darvish).
As good as Gausman has been this season (and for the bulk of his career), the Tampa Bay Rays have had his number. Among teams Gausman has faced at least three times since joining Toronto in 2022, the Rays have given the 35-year-old his fourth-highest ERA at 4.17. The Blue Jays staff as a whole has a 4.37 ERA against the Rays in that time, their second-worst number among all AL opponents, only behind Cleveland.
Rays star Yandy Díaz has been a particular thorn in Gausman’s side. He’s gone 7-for-12 against Gausman with a home run and two walks since 2022.
Tuesday’s start against the Rays also comes after Gausman’s worst outing of 2026 thus far. He allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings during a loss to the Twins, including a pair of homers and just two strikeouts to two walks. Gausman has come back to Earth after beginning the campaign with back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances, allowing at least two runs in each of his last five starts.
Can Gausman get back to form, exorcising both the Blue Jays’ and his own demons against the Rays?
It won’t be an easy task for several reasons, but especially because Drew Rasmussen takes the mound for the Rays opposite Gausman. Rasmussen's results have been completely the opposite of Gausman's, having dominated the Blue Jays -- the team he’s faced most often in his career.
Rasmussen (2-1 with a 2.64 ERA this year) has pitched against Toronto 11 times with nine starts. He boasts a 2.65 ERA in that sample.
Perhaps Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- Rasmussen’s most common opponent -- can spark the Blue Jays. He’s gone 6-for-24 with a long ball in the head-to-head matchup.