Gausman, Gil to start Game 1 of AL Division Series for Blue Jays and Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman says the team is ‘close-knit’ ahead of Game 1 of the ALDS.

TORONTO — There was no wild-card series sweep this time around for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Quick playoff exits over three of the last five years have become learning experiences. Bigger things are expected this October after the Blue Jays topped the American League standings.

A 94-win performance gave Toronto a bye to its first AL Division Series appearance since 2016. It comes with a different feel and it’s not just the summer-like conditions expected this weekend in the Ontario capital.

Baseball franchise royalty has arrived at Rogers Centre in the form of the New York Yankees. With Aaron Judge leading the way, the Bronx Bombers are a homer-happy powerhouse with the machismo to match.

It’ll be up to Game 1 starter Kevin Gausman and the well-rested Blue Jays to set the early tone Saturday in a best-of-five showdown that has baseball observers licking their lips.

“Veteran pitcher going against a veteran lineup,” said Toronto manager John Schneider.

Gausman was 10-11 this year with a 3.59 earned-run average and 189 strikeouts over 32 starts. He’ll face a potent Yankees lineup that advanced to the ALDS on Thursday night with a 4-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

“Any time you get to toe the rubber for the biggest game of the year up to that point, it shows that they have faith in you and that they believe in you,” Gausman said. “Yeah, I’m ready to go. I’m fired up.”

Both teams were expected to name their series rosters on Saturday morning.

The status of Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette (knee sprain) hasn’t changed. He remains day to day and is said to be making progress, but appears to be a long-shot to make the 26-man cut.

Andres Gimenez took most of the reps at shortstop Friday as the team practised in the mid-afternoon sun.

“Coming right down to the wire,” Schneider said of the Bichette decision. “We’ll see how today goes and make that decision tomorrow.”

There are non-injury questions that will be answered once play begins.

Can Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. shake his late-September slump? Can Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman deliver in this series after some ninth-inning struggles this season?

And can Toronto win its first playoff game in nine years?

“If you’re not learning from things that happened in the past, you’re not getting any better,” Schneider said. “You still have to trust your guys. You still have to watch the game. You still have to see what everyone’s doing in real time. I think what I’ve learned from it is it’s baseball.

“You make the best decision in real time based on what you’re seeing, and no matter how it works out, you’re good with it.”

Toronto and New York finished with identical 94-68 records this past season but the Blue Jays took the top seed with a better head-to-head record (8-5).

Winning the East Division title gave Toronto a five-day break between games. The Yankees, meanwhile, were pushed the three-game distance by the archrival Red Sox.

New York manager Aaron Boone said right-hander Luis Gil would start Game 1 for the Yankees. He was 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA over 11 starts this season.

Game 2 will be played in Toronto on Sunday before the series shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Tuesday. New York will host Game 4 if necessary on Wednesday.

If a series decider is required, it would be played Oct. 10 at Rogers Centre.

“It’s nice to win the division, it really is, and it’s nice to set yourself up the way you want to,” Schneider said. “But once you get in, success is about winning and just playing our game.

“That’s the only way you can think about it at this point.”

The Yankees won the AL pennant last year before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The Blue Jays have lost seven straight playoff games dating back to 2016, the year they made a second straight appearance in the AL Championship Series.

Toronto won the Fall Classic in 1992 and ’93. New York leads all big-league teams with 27 World Series crowns, the most recent coming in 2009.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2025.