Gausman calls out Blue Jays' lack of urgency: We can't keep waiting

Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman wants his team to show more urgency as the final month of the regular season approaches.

"We're just waiting for that big stretch," Gausman said, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. "We've kind of been waiting for it all year. Is it going to happen? I don't know. I hope it does. I hope it starts tomorrow, but we can't keep (waiting). We've got to go now and we need a little bit more sense of urgency."

The Blue Jays were on a modest three-game winning streak entering play Wednesday against Gausman's old team, the Baltimore Orioles, at Camden Yards. Toronto lost 7-0 to the first-place club, dropping 8.5 back in the AL East and one game back in the wild-card hunt. They are now 3-9 against the Orioles this year with only Thursday's game remaining in the season series.

"You want to be in this spot with a month left with an opportunity to punch a ticket (to the postseason) and control your own destiny," Gausman continued. "We haven't necessarily played great baseball all year, but we're in a situation now where we're right there and we've just got to keep going."

The 32-year-old is considered a frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young this year, authoring a 3.23 ERA and 2.86 FIP over 150 1/3 innings in 25 starts thus far. The two-time All-Star leads the Junior Circuit with 195 strikeouts and an 11.7 K/9.

According to FanGraphs, the Blue Jays still have a 63.7% chance of making the playoffs with 35 games remaining. Following a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians, the upcoming schedule includes four last-place teams in the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, and Kansas City Royals.