Seeking ‘next level,’ Gausman finds form

Hard-luck pitcher, potential Opening Day starter, sharp in his 2017 exhibition debut

SARASOTA, FLA. — For all those waiting for young Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman to take the next developmental step on the way to becoming a top-flight starting pitcher, manager Buck Showalter has a news bulletin for you. He already did. “I think he kind of answered those things last year,” Showalter said Thursday, right before Gausman took the mound at Ed Smith Stadium and pitched two strong innings against the Minnesota Twins in his first start of the Grapefruit League season.

That certainly wasn’t immediately apparent by his 9-12 record in 2016 or the fact that he didn’t win a game on the road until Aug. 28. But if ever such obvious appearances were truly deceiving, Gausman was a vic- Dylan Bundy feels fine after debuting “cutter-slider” tim of them.

It would not have taken a whole lot of additional run support for him to have been competing with No. 1 starter Chris Tillman for the team lead in victories, which is why he seems like such a logical choice to start in place of Tillman on Opening Day.

“Last year? Some luck,” Showalter said. “There were a lot of games he pitched really well in and didn’t have anything to show for it. So I’ve said many times, that’s one of the last things they have control of, [but] if they consistently pitch well, they’re going to get their W’s. I think just the help, obviously. I think Kevin’s positioned to be as good as he’s capable of being. Everything that he’s supposed to be exposed to is behind him now to go to that next level.”

Gausman wasted no time showing that he was in strong spring form Thursday. He needed just 10 pitches to get a strikeout and two groundouts in the first inning. He allowed a run in the second, but it was the result of a wind-blown opposite-field triple by designated hitter Eddie Rosario that