Gausman’s June struggles continue in Jays’ loss
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching depth is teetering — which makes it a bad time for one of their most reliable starters to be struggling.
Kevin Gausman allowed seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays fell 9-5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, denying their sixth sweep of the season.
“I feel like everybody kind of did their job this series and I just didn’t,” Gausman said. “We’re playing really good right now and going for a sweep today and I go out there and do that. So I’m pretty frustrated.”
The 34-year-old gave up seven hits and three walks as his record dropped to 5-6. Manager John Schneider pulled him after he hit Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., with a pitch to load the bases with one out in the fifth inning.
Both Schneider and Gausman pointed to the righty’s command as the root of his recent struggles.
“When he’s good, he’s on the attack, he’s getting ahead of you and then he’s kind of dominating those 1-1 counts. And that hasn’t been the case,” Schneider said.
Gausman has walked 12 batters in 20 June innings compared to one in 31 innings in May. He’s now allowed 17 earned runs through 20 innings over four starts this month, a rough follow-up to a sterling May in which he went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
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He said strike percentage has been “the story” of his season.
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“June’s been really ugly for me and so I need to take a deep look and figure some things out and get better. I feel like if I can get back to who I am, I think that’s the next step for this team and I hope to be a big part of it and right now I feel like I’m not doing my end,” Gausman said.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk blasted two solo home runs for Toronto (40-34), which had won the first two of the three-game interleague series. Centre fielder Jonatan Clase also added a solo shot.
The Blue Jays sit in the second wild-card position in the American League, one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Diamondbacks (37-37) climbed to .500 with the win.
Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith combined for two home runs and seven RBIs in the victory, with the slugging Suarez — who ended the game a triple away from the cycle — especially proving to be a thorn in Gausman’s side.
“He had a plan going in obviously and I think I kind of fed right into his plan just about every at-bat,” Gausman said.
The Rogers Centre roof opened about 20 minutes before the game, and Schneider mentioned windy conditions — with gusts up to 32 kilometres per hour at first pitch — as a factor in Gausman’s outing.
“I’ve pitched plenty of games windy and I kinda need to make that adjustment,” Gausman said. “My split was moving a lot today, but I just couldn’t make that adjustment to figure out how to throw it for a strike and then how to throw it for a ball.”
Gausman’s next start is likely to come next week against the Cleveland Guardians, whose 277 runs entering Thursday were fourth fewest in the American League.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays continue to face other questions in their rotation.
After the game, Toronto announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull would start Friday’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox. The spot would have belonged to Bowden Francis, who was recently placed on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder impingement.
Turnbull, who signed with the Blue Jays in May, has made two relief appearances for the club, allowing seven hits and one earned run in 4.1 innings.
Eric Lauer, who started and pitched five strong innings in a win Wednesday, has bounced between relief, starting and bulk roles with the team but could round out the rotation — along with Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios — for the time being.
Elsewhere, Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, made his second rehab start with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Wednesday. His next game action could come at the major-league level.
Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick one year ago, recently moved up to double-A and was tied for the minor-league lead with 96 strikeouts through Wednesday’s action.
But Scherzer, who has pitched three MLB innings this season, and Yesavage, whose next MLB pitch will be his first, remain mysteries to an extent.
And so the urgency for Gausman to regain control of the strike zone and rediscover his May form is apparent.
“(Gausman’s) elite when he’s ahead in counts, and I think just not getting there has been tough for him,” Schneider said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Residents of a tiny rural community in eastern Ontario pressed police on Saturday for answers about a disturbing attack on a young girl that investigators believed was caused by an animal — until they arrested a teenager in the case.
Nearly 100 people filled a small community centre in Quadeville, about 170 kilometres west of Ottawa, for a town hall organized by Ontario Provincial Police to address residents’ questions and concerns about their investigation.
Some have asked why the OPP alerted the community about a suspected animal attack on the eight-year-old girl before announcing two weeks later that a 17-year-old boy had been charged with sexual assault and attempted murder.
Police have said that they never ruled out other possibilities, and that their initial theory was supported by medical and pathology experts.
At Saturday evening’s town hall, police did not divulge any new information about the case that is now before the courts, but sought to assure residents they did everything they could to keep them informed throughout the investigation.
The community centre was packed, with no empty seats to be found. As people filed in, the temperature in the room started to increase on a sweltering evening, especially after someone shut off the portable air conditioning unit that was making noise.
“It’s a very traumatic time for this community because everyone knows everyone involved,” OPP Supt. Derek Needham said at the meeting punctuated by some tense moments.
When police opened the floor for questions, a man who identified himself as a relative of the victim asked why it took a long time for police to respond when the girl was initially reported missing on June 23, after she was last seen at a local store.
Police replied that it took time to bring officers to the scene to search the area.
“I could’ve done my own investigation,” said the man, adding that he lives three hours away.
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The OPP have said that they began their search for the missing child around 9 p.m. on June 23, and found her with life-threatening injuries not long after midnight.
Police asked people to keep their small children indoors amid fears of an animal attack but as their investigation continued, they discovered that there were no traces of animal DNA from the victim’s wounds. Police have not said what kind of evidence led them to arrest the teenage suspect, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Town hall attendee Sandy Musclow asked police how members of the community should interact with the families of the young girl and the suspect.
“A whole lot of healing needs to take place,” Needham said, adding that the best thing for families to do is reach out and have open communication.
After the town hall ended, Musclow said “it’s been a bit difficult to figure out” how to support both families.
“I’ve grown up with them and we really want to make sure that we feel like everyone can feel the pain and move forward together as a community,” she said.
Musclow said that although residents didn’t get much information about the police investigation at the town hall, she was glad to see the community come together. She also pointed to various fundraising efforts for the girl, who remains in hospital, and her family.
“I just feel that the police did a really good job at giving us some solace that they did the right thing for us and they did everything as timely as they could and they were really looking into everyone’s interest,” Musclow said.
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson told reporters on Saturday that police were compelled to warn the public about a possible animal attack in the early stages of the investigation, even if they weren’t sure that was the case.
“We couldn’t undersell it because if we didn’t say something and warn people and it was an animal and another child was attacked, that would be horrible,” he said.
Dickson said one of the local churches is bringing in counsellors to work with the community and counselling services from the OPP will also be available.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A new poll by Leger has found that Quebec residents are the happiest in Canada.
The web survey of nearly 40,000 Canadians found that Quebecers rated their happiness at an average of 72.4 out of 100, which is well above the national average.
New Brunswick followed Quebec with an average of 70.2, while Manitoba and Prince Edward Island finished at the bottom of the list.
Mississauga, Ont. had the highest happiness rating of the 10 largest cities, while Toronto was lowest.
Montreal finished second in the category.
The survey found that 49 per cent of respondents said their happiness level was unchanged over the past year, while 23 per said they were happier and 28 per cent said they were less happy.
“These results reveal a population that is both resilient and tested, affected by everyday uncertainty and challenges,” Leger’s executive summary read. “Happiness, while holding its ground overall, shows signs of fragility.”
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The survey found that people in the 18-to-24 and 24-to-34-year-old categories were more likely to report improved feelings of well-being, even if their overall happiness score remained below the national average.
In contrast, people in the 35-to-44 and 45-to-54 age brackets were more likely to report their happiness had deteriorated.
“There is a sense of well-being emerging among younger age groups,” the summary read. “However, this also highlights the importance of supporting adults in mid-life, who are more vulnerable to the pressures of working life.”
Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador were the three provinces with happiness levels above the national average of 68.7. They were followed, in descending order, by Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and P.E.I. The territories were not included in the survey.
In the survey of the 10 largest cities, Mississauga and Montreal finished ahead of Hamilton, Calgary, Brampton, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto, in that order.
Women reported slightly higher happiness levels than men, at 69.4 versus 68.0.
Leger says the overall results confirm “a level of happiness that is relatively high but stagnant or even slightly down compared to the pre-pandemic period.”
To get the results, Leger surveyed 39,841 Canadians aged 18 and up between March 31 and April 13.
Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Ontario Provincial Police are set to host a town hall in Quadeville, Ont., this evening to answer questions from residents about an attack on an eight-year-old child that was initially linked to an animal.
Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy in the case and he faces charges of attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon.
Members of the small community 170 kilometres west of Ottawa say they were in shock after hearing about the arrest and hope to get clarity at today’s event in the town’s community centre.
Local resident Christine Hudder says she wants to know how police came up with the animal attack theory and why families were told for days to keep their children indoors.
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The victim was found with life-threatening injuries on June 24 after she was reported missing, and remains in hospital.
Police say they are planning to give as much information as possible to locals given that an investigation is still underway.
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