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Well, Gausman doesn’t need to worry about that now. The 34-year-old has not only found a way to contribute, he has rediscovered the form that previously made him a front-line piece.

The latest example came Thursday when Gausman limited the Houston Astros to a pair of hits in a complete-game shutout. He was at ease with his pitches, on point with his command, and he almost single-handedly carried the Jays to a 6-0 victory over the American League West-leading Houston Astros at the Rogers Centre.

“I think today was as good as I’ve been this season,” said Gausman, who struck out nine Astros. “I felt like I was throwing the ball wherever I needed to. Whether it was up or down, in or out.”

Gausman’s outing was a master-class performance. He retired the first nine hitters before Jeremy Peña led off the fourth inning with a single. Two batters later, Carlos Correa added another single to put runners on the corners with one out. It was a tricky situation but Gausman escaped by getting Jose Altuve to pop up and Jesús Sánchez to strike out.

Peña, who also walked in the ninth, and Correa were the only two Astros to reach base. At one point, Gausman retired 15 consecutive batters while picking up the fourth complete game and second shutout of his career. It was also the first nine-inning complete game of the season for the Jays. Chris Bassitt pitched a complete game against the Athletics on July 8, but that one only lasted six innings because of rain.

Since that start against the Diamondbacks, Gausman has a 2.36 ERA in 91 2/3 innings. He has been the Jays’ most valuable pitcher during that stretch and the fans let him know how much they appreciated it during the series finale. Gausman was treated to a standing ovation when he ran onto the field for the ninth inning, and he got another after retiring Correa to end the game.

“I’ve never closed a game out for the Blue Jays, but I feel like that’s what it would be like,” Gausman said. “Standing ovation before the ninth inning. It was pretty cool. I tried to do my best to tune it out, but it got so loud I couldn’t hear my Pitchcom, but I’ll take that.

“It was a pretty cool environment. As a starting pitcher, you rarely get those opportunities to be in the game (in the ninth). To do that at home was special.”

With Gausman pitching as well as he did, the Jays got all the offence they needed in the bottom of the first. George Springer led off with a single and scored when Nathan Lukes hit a sharp liner to left field. Two batters later, Addison Barger made it 2-0 with a double to centre.

The Jays scored another run in the second on a solo homer by Davis Schneider, who also added a sacrifice fly in the fourth. They put the game out of reach in the eighth on a Barger sacrifice fly and a Daulton Varsho RBI single. 

The victory once again showcased the Jays’ resilience, which has been their calling card for most of the year. They bounced back after a late-inning loss to the Astros on Wednesday and quickly got over losing a series to the New York Yankees over the weekend by taking two of three from Houston.

“That’s the goal, right?” Jays manager John Schneider said. “Win every series. It’s nice to score early. They have pitched well against us, both here and at their place. It was nice to get the lead and let Kev go. These guys are really good at turning the page.”

The Jays finished the win with a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East, pending the outcome of the Yankees’ matchup later Thursday. With 16 games remaining, that lead is more like 4 1/2 because the Jays also own the tiebreaker.

The division hasn’t been wrapped up quite yet, but the banner is within sight. And with just over two weeks left to play in the regular season, Gausman is one of the main reasons why.