Baltimore Orioles: Gausman looking to shake the past

Baltimore Orioles starter, Kevin Gausman, will be taking the mound for his second start of the season. He’ll be looking to get back on track versus the New York Yankees.

Kevin Gausman and the Baltimore Orioles will take on the New York Yankees in game two of their four-game weekend set. And, for the 27-year-old right-hander out of LSU, he’s been all too familiar with the Yankees over the years.

Seeing the Bronx Bombers 22 times (with 16 starts), Gausman currently holds a 3.53 ERA in 102 innings pitched. That amount of innings, starts, and appearances are tops versus any team he’s faced. He’s appeared in 18 games – and started 13 – against both the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

Pitching away from the friendly confines of Oriole Park at Camden Yards hasn’t suited him too well, though. In 71 games (56 starts) away from Baltimore, Gausman holds a 15-and-29 record, with a 4.80 ERA. Alternatively, his outings at home are a bit more tolerable.

In 59 games (51 starts) in Baltimore, Gausman has gone 19-and-15, with a 3.65 ERA.

Much, much better.

Looking to put the past behind him

Attempting to build on a second-half that saw him pitch to a 3.41 ERA in 2017, Gausman’s first start of the season didn’t go as planned.

Last Sunday, the Minnesota Twins lit him up for six runs in just four innings. He allowed home runs to MLB’s Unwritten Rules captain, Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and  Eduardo Escobar.

About that dig, sorry, not sorry.

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The Orioles were shutout, losing their second straight.

But, that was Minnesota. That was last Sunday. Tonight is Friday, and these are the New York Yankees. The same group that Gausman has beaten seven times in 16 starts. The same team that he’s punched out 85 times. Both, again, tops against any team he’s faced.

Generally, these numbers scream success. Although, there wasn’t much of that last season.

In five starts against New York last season, Gausman was lit up for a 9.27 ERA in 22.1 innings. More staggering was his ERA pitching in Yankee Stadium, 11.57. His lone outing in the Bronx came on April 28, where he was tagged for five runs on eight hits in six innings.

Continuing the streak of Quality Starts

Following Andrew Cashner‘s outing last night and Dylan Bundy‘s masterful go-round on Wednesday, Gausman will have the chance to make it three straight Quality Starts for the Orioles.

In case you don’t know, a Quality Start, defined by MLB, is when a starting pitcher, “pitches at least six innings and allows three earned runs or fewer.”

By my count, he turned in 15 Quality Starts last season, after starting 34 times. He strung together four-in-a-row from July 19 to August 4, pitching 27.2 innings and allowing just two runs (0.65 ERA) in that timeframe.

Next: Everything aligned for the Baltimore Orioles

If Gausman can pitch like his counterparts over the past two days, it could mean big things for an Orioles team trying to climb back to .500. A win tonight seals – at the very least – a series split in New York. A good omen, after many folks thought they wouldn’t win at all.