Gausman finds groove, shines at Camden
Righty has 1.50 home ERA after 2nd straight strong start
BALTIMORE -- Kevin Gausman has waited a long time to get a win as a starter. He certainly deserved the 'W' on Saturday night.
Gausman fired seven impressive innings -- holding the Tigers to only Nick Castellanos' two-run homer -- in Baltimore's 6-2 victory at Camden Yards, Gausman's first in six starts this season.
"I think I feel really comfortable pitching here, which is a lot different than when I first came up," said Gausman, who has now pitched at least seven innings in back-to-back games and has a 1.50 home ERA. "I was always scared to give up home runs here. Everybody tells you how small the park is, and it's a hitters' park. That's one thing; I've just kind of felt comfortable here this year."
Gausman, who picked up his last win as a starting pitcher on Aug. 17, allowed just four hits and didn't issue a walk, striking out six in the 106-pitch outing.
"He's got a pretty fresh arm going right now," manager Buck Showalter said of the 24-year-old Gausman. "But I've got to tell you, he didn't get much help. There were five or six, I'll be nice and say borderline pitches, he didn't get that I thought could have made it even better than it was. But he was really good. He attacked and had a good feel for all his pitches."
Gausman retired the first 11 batters he faced and cruised for most of the evening, relying heavily on his fastball.
"Each and every start he makes here, he's got even more command, more command with the power," catcher Caleb Joseph said. "It's not like the command is coming with 92 [mph], it's coming with 95, 96, 97. Kevin is getting into a nice routine here as well. He was in the bullpen and made a few other starts and now he's starting to settle in here as well. And that's the kind of starting pitching we need to make a run here."