TORONTO -- Kevin Gausman is a simple pitcher, which is what makes him so complicated.

Up and down, up and down, Gausman toys with hitters and teases their eyes. When he is at his very best, he needs just two pitches to bewilder the batter, each of them disguised as one another.

Thursday afternoon was a Gausman masterclass, a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts and just two hits allowed on an even 100 pitches, just one pitch shy of the Blue Jays’ first “ Maddux ” since Mark Buehrle pulled it off on June 3, 2015 . The 6-0 win to take the series from the Astros was Gausman’s finest performance of the season to follow up eight innings of one-run ball on Friday in the Bronx.

The ace is back.

“He seems to be peaking at the right time,” said manager John Schneider, who called t

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