TORONTO _ Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman navigated through the end of his longest start of this young season Thursday night relying on the pitch that got him that far.
An aggressive Blue Jays lineup desperate to break out of the club's worst start in franchise history helped. But the Orioles' 2-1 victory over Toronto at Rogers Centre was dictated by Gausman's ability to maneuver out of trouble using his mid-90s fastball.
Gausman's results over his first two starts were uneven, with both outings shortened because he got lost in deep counts.
But his best performance of the season was more like the Gausman that emerged in the second half of last season, mainly because he was able to set the tone early with quick innings.
Gausman (1-0) held the Blue Jays to one run on five hits over six innings, earning his first victory of the season with his first quality start of the year.
Over the season's first several games, the Orioles (6-2) have played close games nearly every single night _ five of their six wins have been decided by two runs or fewer _ and Gausman's ability to limit the Blue Jays to one run was the difference Thursday night.
The win kept the Orioles in first place in the American League East as the Blue Jays (1-8) continued their early-season spiral.
Gausman needed just 31 pitches to get through his first three innings, in part because he was able to work quick at-bats _ something that he struggled to do in his first two starts. Among the first nine batters he faced, he threw more than four pitches to just two batters.
He was markedly more aggressive, unafraid to pitch to contact and keeping the ball on the ground. Of his first nine outs, eight were on ground balls, and five were induced by fastballs. Gausman's strikeout (three) and walk (two) totals were his lowest this season.
That combination allowed Gausman to maneuver through some deeper counts later as the game remained close, and he survived a dangerous sixth inning his third time through the order.
Going into the sixth, Gausman had allowed just three hits, and the Blue Jays had just one base runner in scoring position through the first five innings.
Clinging to a two-run lead, Gausman allowed back-to-back one-out doubles _ a hit to the center-field wall by Jose Bautista before Josh Donaldson's liner down the right-field line _ that quickly put the tying run in scoring position at second base.
Gausman then lost Kendrys Morales on an eight-pitch walk, his longest at-bat of the night _ after going ahead of him 1-2.
Gausman then recovered, retiring Troy Tulowitzki on a first-pitch 94-mph fastball on a loud but harmless flyout to center and then getting Russell Martin to weakly pop up to second on a 96 mph fastball.
