Gausman tosses 5 1/3 scoreless innings, Kiermaier homers and Blue Jays beat Nationals 6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin Gausman pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer in his return from the injured list and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak.
Gausman (2-3) allowed three hits while striking out eight. He walked two batters in the first inning, but settled in and later retired 10 straight — seven by strikeout — before leaving after Luis García Jr.’s one-out single in the sixth after 112 pitches.
“Not very efficient to be honest,” Gausman said. “Too many deep counts. But I went into this game kind of knowing I was going to need to go deep and that they might push me a little bit, so I was fine with that.”
Gausman has given up two earned runs in 24 innings while striking out 21 with five walks over his last four starts.
Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho each had two hits for the Blue Jays, who had lost eight of 11. Kiermaier returned after missing nine games with left hip flexor inflammation and connected off Derek Law in the eighth inning for his first homer of the season.