Should Blue Jays Fans Be Concerned About Kevin Gausman's Recent Struggles?

The Toronto Blue Jays' ace has been hit very hard over his last two outings, so hard that fans might feel growing concerns.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) pitches at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

After reaching the .500 mark on June 22 for the first time since May 29, the Toronto Blue Jays have fallen below the margin once again, this time, without an end in sight. The Blue Jays dropped the series opener against the Texas Rangers Thursday night, dropping them to 39-42 on the season.

Going into the game looking to end their losing streak, John Schneider and the Blue Jays sent out their ace, Kevin Gausman, to get the job done. Gausman had his first blunder of the season, his last time out against the Chicago Cubs, so many thought before he took the mound on Thursday.

For the second start in a row, Gausman got hit around harder than a piñata at a birthday party. The Rangers put up six earned runs against Toronto's ace, who went six innings, allowing 10 hits, three of which were home runs. In his last two starts, Gausman has now allowed 17 earned runs.

Should Fans Start to Panic?

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) sits in the dugout. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Seeing arguably the best starting pitcher on the staff struggle in back-to-back games can happen over the course of a 162-game season. For the Blue Jays, Gausman has more often than not given them quality outings; however, the last two starts wouldn't show for it in the bloating of his season ERA.

But now with a 7.62 ERA in 20 innings pitched in June, as well as allowing 13 runs in a two-game span as a member of the Blue Jays, breaking his previous high of 11, which he's done twice, according to Sportsnet Stats on X (formerly Twitter).

Take away the two horrid outings, Gausman was holding a 3.41 ERA before the Chicago Cubs game, and as the Blue Jays look to climb back into the AL East and the AL playoff hunt (again), the veteran in Gausman will surely come out to help bring the franchise to the promised land.

However, if this trend continues, it sparks the conversation of whether something underlying is affecting Gausman, or he straight up just doesn't have the best feel for the baseball right now. Luckily, baseball is a team sport and the ace of the staff will get a chance to go again by the end of the month.

So, should Blue Jays fans panic for Gausman? Not entirely, but those outings aren't encouraging. If it happens a third time out, the coaching staff is going to have to make hard decisions for the betterment of the franchise, perhaps adding a starting pitcher at the trade deadline.