PHILADELPHIA -- It would have been hard to blame Kevin Gausman if he was dealing with a bit of fatigue in Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

After all, the Blue Jays were playing the final contest of a nine-game road trip that marked their second three-city trip of the young season. Toronto has played more than twice as many road games (25) as home games (12).

Instead of slowing down, however, Gausman sped up -- quite literally.

The veteran righty uncorked his fastest pitch over the past three seasons on his way to striking out nine batters over six scoreless innings in the Blue Jays' 2-1 loss to the Phils. Gausman threw his seven fastest pitches of the season while outdueling Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, including a 99.0 mph fastball to Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning that clocked in as Gausman's fastest pitch since Aug. 9, 2020.

Gausman's four-seamer averaged 96.1 mph on Wednesday, up considerably from 93.5 mph in his first seven starts this season. It was also higher than his 95.0 mph average last season.

“When you look at the stuff -- with that velo and that splitter,” manager John Schneider said, “he's as good as anybody in the league.”

It wasn’t just Gausman’s four-seam velocity that saw a jump against the Phillies. With his splitter also sitting 2.4 mph above his season average, Gausman relied primarily on that two-pitch mix -- while occasionally mixing in a slider -- to induce 15 swings and misses, and allow only three hits.

“When I'm throwing upper 90s, it definitely plays good with my splitter,” Gausman said. “When I have my velocity, I feel like it just makes all my other pitches better.”

“The way Gausman threw the ball today, it’s really tough,” said Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper, whose fielder’s choice in the 10th inning led to the winning run when Bo Bichette made a throwing error.

So what led to Gausman’s uptick in velocity?

For starters, he had an extra day of rest since his last outing in Boston, when he was tagged for eight runs off 10 hits over just 3 1/3 innings last Thursday. It’s a small sample, but that extra day of rest has proved monumental for Gausman in the early going this season. 

In five starts with an extra day of rest, Gausman has a ridiculous 0.79 ERA. He’s racked up 51 strikeouts to just two walks over 34 innings, all while allowing only three earned runs. In three outings on normal rest, however, Gausman has a 9.64 ERA to go with 16 strikeouts and five walks over 14 innings.

“To be honest, not really,” Gausman said when asked if he feels any different with a fifth day of rest. “I guess with the velo, it does. And if you look at the numbers, there's obviously something behind that. But yeah, I just need to do a little bit more in the training room when I know I don't have an extra day to be a little bit more fresh.”

With an off-day on Thursday, Gausman will likely once again get an extra day before his next outing, presumably against the Yankees on Tuesday. But starting Friday, Toronto plays 17 games in 17 games, meaning Gausman’s next two starts after facing the Yanks would come on normal rest -- unless Schneider plans to get creative.

“I don't think so, not in May,” Schneider said. “It's nice for anyone to get the extra day, but I think at this part of the season, I don't really read into it.”

For now, Gausman will focus on his workouts and routine between starts in an attempt to bring the same velocity and sharpness that he had against the Phillies to his normal-rest starts.

“Those are things that I talk with the strength coaches and training staff about,” Gausman said. “Trying to figure out what's going on and what can make me be most consistent every five days.”

The Blue Jays are also searching for more consistency as a team after finishing 3-6 on their latest road trip. Toronto bookended a three-game sweep of the Pirates with being on the other end of a pair of sweeps -- four games in Boston and two games in Philadelphia.

Now, the Blue Jays return to Rogers Centre, where they are 9-3 this season, for a 10-game homestand against a trio of teams with winning records: the National League-leading Braves and the division rival Yankees and Orioles.

“Playing at home is such an advantage for us,” Gausman said. “We always play better at home, so getting back there -- obviously, a good team coming in with Atlanta -- so hopefully we can turn the page.”