TORONTO — Kevin Gausman had been in this situation before, albeit over a decade ago. He was a young pitcher for the Orioles, thrown into the fray mid-game during the biggest series for his club in years.

That was the 2014 American League Championship Series, when Gausman twice threw in relief during the Kansas City Royals’ sweep of Baltimore. And on Monday night, Gausman was there again — coming out of the bullpen in Game 7 for the Toronto Blue Jays.

His seventh inning wasn’t clean (he walked three batters, one intentionally) but it worked. He put up a zero, the Blue Jays scored and Toronto turned over to bedlam, booking a trip to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

In the 11 years between his first and second ALCS experience, Gausman is hardly the same pitcher. From the early career instability, the trial and error of a young pitcher finding his way, to the late-career blossoming of a top-end arm, Gausman enters his first World Series light-years ahead of the 23-year-old who toed the rubber for the Orioles in the 2014 ALCS.

It took failure. It took a change of scenery. And Gausman can look back on it now with the appreciation of someone who stumbled and then found steadier footing.

“I wouldn’t change any of my path,” Gausman said. “I kind of got to where I am because of it, and I’m proud of what I went through in Baltimore, and the ups and downs. I’m proud that I was able to get DFA’d and then was a Cy Young finalist.”

Gausman represented part of the great hope of the Orioles a decade ago. He was frank in his assessment of his place in the organization. It wasn’t so much because of his talent, he said, as it was the necessity of an arm to step up.

For a while, Gausman said, he and Dylan Bundy were the lone pitching prospects. They represented the next wave after a group of young starting pitchers headlined by Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman, Zack Britton and Brian Matusz graduated to the majors with mixed results. That accelerated his path to Baltimore, and the highs and lows that followed were emblematic of a raw pitcher who had yet to discover how best to maximize his potential.

“I definitely could’ve used a little bit more time pitching in the minor leagues,” Gausman said. “But I was with an organization, we didn’t really have too many pitching prospects in front of me. It was me and Bundy, and that was kind of it, really, for about five years. There was no one else coming, so we kind of had to be the guys. And it is what it is.”

There were moments of brilliance. He posted a 3.57 ERA in 2014, and his 3.61 ERA in 2016 came in 179 2/3 innings. The right-hander’s future as a workhorse was evident then, even if he took his share of lumps.

Part of the problem, Gausman said, was that he attempted to be a sinker-baller. He also tried to refine his slider as an effective swing-and-miss offering after watching some of the best pitchers at the time work on theirs.

“I got caught up in trying to pitch like a lot of the other guys in the league,” Gausman said.

Then the Orioles, as part of a franchise-altering teardown amid a disappointing 2018 season, traded Gausman and reliever Darren O’Day to the Atlanta Braves, and the change in organizations brought about a change in Gausman’s approach.

“Once I got to Atlanta, they were kind of like, ‘Your slider is not that good. Throw your split. It’s a lot better,’” Gausman said. “And it really took, sounds bad to say, but going to a different place. Sometimes that happens to a lot of guys, and I was kind of a prime example of that.”

Still, for all the strides Gausman made in altering his delivery and pitch mix, poor results in 2019 prompted the Braves to designate him for assignment. He was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds, then signed that offseason with the San Francisco Giants, where he became a first-time All-Star as a 30-year-old in 2021.

That led to a five-year deal with the Blue Jays that will last through the end of next season. And in Toronto, Gausman has solidified himself as a standout starter — he hasn’t produced an ERA over 4.00 since 2019, and Gausman has thrown at least 174 2/3 innings each year since 2022.

In 2023, he finished third in the American League Cy Young race with a 12-9 record, 3.16 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 185 innings pitched.

“The second part of my career has been a lot different than my first, that’s for sure,” Gausman said.

On Sunday night, after the Blue Jays won Game 6 to force one last game against the Mariners, Gausman didn’t hesitate when asked whether he considers himself available out of the bullpen, despite starting Game 5 two days earlier. If he was called upon, he was ready.

At that moment, Gausman wasn’t thinking of his last ALCS relief appearances all those years ago with Baltimore. But the bookend relief outings tell the story of a pitcher who has lost and learned with age — and who now will take the ball in the World Series.

“It’s what we’ve all dreamt of,” Gausman said, “and this is why I came here.”