KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was never a doubt about what the Cubs needed entering the trade deadline. Team president Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell were clear pitching was the priority. Hoyer was true to his word, adding four pitchers, including Friday’s starter, Kevin Gausman, to a team that looks primed to make a playoff run.But it’s not as if the starting pitching was a mess entering the day. Since July 1, Cubs starters were first in the National League with a 3.29 ERA.After one start, Gausman seems to fit right in. The veteran righty went seven innings and allowed just two runs on four hits, four strikeouts and a walk as the Cubs defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Friday night.Gausman’s evening didn’t seem as if it would go so smoothly early on. The former Toronto Blue Jay issued a walk to leadoff hitter Carter Jensen and two outs later took a 106.2 mph liner off his right leg. After a quick meeting on the mound, Gausman assured Counsell and the trainer that he was good to go.Which MLB teams did the most?Levi Weaver and Madison Eades“I was just kind of waiting for it to stiffen up, and it never did,” Gausman said. “That’s what you’re worried about, if you lose the mobility in the ankle. Got lucky, it hit me half on my shoe, half on my leg. I’ll take that.”Two pitches later, he allowed an RBI double to Isaac Collins. It appeared things were going sideways quickly for the new Cubs starter. But Gausman quickly settled down and allowed just two more hits the rest of the way, retiring 19 of the final 21 batters he faced.“Took me a little bit to kind of get going,” Gausman said. “Just was too quick, too amped up. Trying to pitch great the first couple batters of the game. Kind of gotta let the game come to you.”Gausman threw 96 pitches, largely sticking to his four-seamer and splitter. Despite the two-pitch mix, he seemed to have the Royals hitters guessing all game. Twelve of his 15 called strikes were on the heater, and 10 of his 14 swings-and-misses came on the split.“I thought he got the location of the splitter really going,” Counsell said. “It makes sense, that’s a hard pitch to throw. We’ve seen how good Shota (Imanaga) can be with it. When that pitch is right, it’s just such a difficult pitch for hitters.”As for the Cubs hitters, they immediately made sure the one-run deficit they faced after the first wouldn’t last long. Chicago put up four runs in the second and tacked on much-needed insurance runs in the seventh and eighth.Gausman, who faced this offense in June and gave up seven runs, was glad to see them on his side this time around.“For those guys to pick you up right away … it’s a juggernaut of an offense,” Gausman said. “You can see why they give teams fits. It definitely gave me fits when I faced them. Happy to be over here now.”After Gausman walked off the mound in the seventh, he received an ovation from the large contingent of Cubs fans who made the trek to Kauffman Stadium.“That was cool,” Gausman said. “Definitely something I wasn’t expecting being on the road. That’s the cool part of being part of such a huge fanbase. They travel well, and they’re excited about this team for good reason.”The fans are excited because their team is looking as good as ever. They’ve won five straight games since the deadline and have climbed to a season-high 19 games over .500. They’re just 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, the closest they’ve been since May.This team has arguably the best offense and defense in baseball and now has added pitchers who could help put them over the edge. Gausman, a veteran who started two World Series games and posted a sub-3.00 ERA in six postseason outings last fall, is exactly the type of player who can be a key to this team making a deep October run.“I think he’s a huge piece,” catcher Carson Kelly said. “The intensity that he brings, the experience that he has. How to navigate a lineup and continue to take it to them. I think that’s something that’s very valuable for us.”