Kevin Gausman: the first 2,000th strikeout for the Blue Jays

May 11, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) waves to the fans after he is acknowledged for getting his 2,000th career strike out during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E.

Sokolowski-Imagn Images With his 4th inning strikeout of Hunter Feduccia last night, Kevin Gausman became the 91st pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 strikeouts (and finished the night in 90th place given that Andy Benes had 2,000 on the nose). Gausman is just the 10th among those 91 to have played for the Blue Jays (of 539 players who have taken the mound for the Jays). Even in that rarified air however, Gausman holds a particular distinction: he’s the only pitcher to record his 2000th strikeout for the Blue Jays.

To get a better sense of these pitchers and their impact for the Blue Jays franchise, let’s split out their strikeouts for the Jays and sort by that: It turns out there’s a few distinct categories here. The first is future Hall of Fame pitchers who came to Toronto at the tail end of their career, with both the 2,000 strikeout milestone and their best years well in the rearview mirror such that they’re mostly footnotes for Blue Jays purposes. A 48-year old Phil Niekro made three starts for the Jays in August 1987 as a desperation stopgap before Pat Gillick was able to acquire Mike Flanagan as a real upgrade.

His 200th strikeout came nearly pre-dated the Blue Jays franchise, occurring beforehand in April 1978. Max Scherzer has had a few moments, but has mostly vacillated between injured and ineffective as a Blue Jays. His 2,000th strikeout likewise came well beforehand, back in mid-2017.