PHOENIX – For the better part of the past four and a half years, Kevin Gausman pitched like a bona fide ace for the Blue Jays. A World Series-tested veteran, the 35-year-old brings both moxie and a nasty fastball/splitter mix to the top of the Cubs’ rotation – both of which he displayed in a dominant outing Monday.
Gausman was in top form during start No. 4 in Cubbie blue, twirling seven scoreless frames with six strikeouts during a commanding 7-0 win over the D-backs at Chase Field. By virtue of Milwaukee having the day off, the Cubs gained half a game in the National League Central race and now sit 5 1/2 games out with 30 games to play. With Philadelphia losing, the club strengthened its hold on the top Wild Card spot, now three games up on the Phillies and five up on the third-place Padres.
The right-hander’s seven frames tied a season high while marking his third scoreless outing of the year. He turned to his four-seam fastball for 62 of his 94 pitches – 66 percent, a season-best percentage – with an increased frequency, registering a career-high 24 called strikes on the offering, including four strikeouts. Scattering three hits and a walk, the only time the D-backs had a runner in scoring position was when Corbin Carroll stole his way there.
Gausman and catcher Carson Kelly – working as a tandem for just the second time – peppered the D-backs with heaters from the get-go. With the threat of his splitter looming – particularly against lefties – Gausman fed hard stuff, stymying an offense that entered the night second in the National League in OPS (trailing only the Cubs) during August.
“I thought Carson called a hell of a game,” said Gausman. “Being able to recognize them with two strikes, maybe looking for something soft, we blew some fastballs right by guys. It’s always nice when you have good enough command where you can throw that pitch a lot, and I kind of knew early on it was going to be there.”
“That’s the pitch that was definitely the difference maker,” manager Craig Counsell said of Gausman’s heater. “It was that he commanded it really, really well. Carson did a great job of feeling they’re kind of maybe looking for the split and then the fastball gets taken.”
Batters had reasons to be weary of what awaited, after all. Gausman’s splitter entered the night with the third-highest whiff rate (41.4 percent) in the Majors, and even when batters do manage to make contact against it, it’s often not favorable – the two-time All-Star’s change-of-pace weapon is eliciting the fourth-lowest hard-hit rate (23.6 percent) and fifth-lowest xSLG (.279) among all splitters in baseball.
It often takes batterymates weeks or even months to develop the level of lockstep that Gausman and Kelly have reached in the relative snap of a finger. The secret to a quick rapport? Food, naturally.
“If he’s eating, even if I’m not hungry, I just go grab something, go sit next to him,” laughed Kelly. “Just a lot of conversations. Talk about the game, talk about life … that way we build that trust and then when we get out there, we trust each other.”
The overarching theme of the Cubs’ Deadline acquisition modus operandi was to gain top-flight rotation help. With Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown and potentially even Justin Steele all slated to return as relief help down the stretch (if they return at all, in Steele’s case), the onus becomes even larger on Gausman being the guy capable of shutting down some of the top offenses in the game.
“He’s a good energy guy,” Kelly said of Gausman. “The work ethic is there. He’s a true pro; he wants the ball – you can see that every inning. It just seems like he gets stronger and stronger.”
A day removed from setting the single-game franchise record with 15 runs scored with two outs in an inning, the Cubs were back at it Monday. Each of their first five runs came with two down in the frame, including back-to-back moonshots from Michael Conforto (110.9 mph, 431 feet) and Kelly in the sixth. Following their latest barrage, they sit atop the Major League heap with 274 runs scored in such scenarios.
Add in their defensive acumen – sitting atop almost every major metric in 2026 – and Monday night was a microcosm of what Cubs baseball looks like when everything is clicking.
“The sky is the limit,” said Gausman. “This defense, this offense, the pitchers that we have here – it’s a really great team.”