Blue Jays one win from World Series title after Yesavage pitches them past Dodgers 6-1 in Game 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trey Yesavage set a World Series Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts, and the Toronto Blue Jays opened Game 5 with back-to-back homers in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday that moved them within one win of their first championship since 1993.
Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected on Blake Snell’s first and third pitches, the first consecutive homers to start a Series game.
Yesavage, a precocious 22-year-old right-hander who began his season last April pitching before 327 fans in Class A, took over from there.
With a sinking splitter, spinning slider and overpowering fastball that quieted LA bats and a crowd of 52,175, he broke the prior rookie record of 11 strikeouts set by Don Newcombe for the Dodgers in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees in the 1949 opener. Getting six Ks each with his splitter and slider, Yesavage became the first Series pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
“I’m kind of blown away by what he did,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Yesavage allowed three hits over seven innings and his only run when Kiké Hernández homered on a high fastball to trim the Dodgers’ deficit to 2-1 in the third.
Seranthony Domínguez and Jeff Hoffman finished a four-hitter.
“When three of my pitches are in the strike zone, or even two, like part of tonight, I mean, I’m in control,” Yesavage said. “Just stay in the strike zone and get ahead.”
Toronto leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven matchup and will have a chance to dethrone the defending champions when the Series resumes Friday night at Rogers Centre. No team has won consecutive titles since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998-2000.
Yesavage debuted with the Blue Jays on Sept. 15, his fifth level of baseball this year. He went 1-0 in three regular-season starts and is 3-1 in five postseason outings.
Yesavage induced 23 swings and misses — most in a Series game since pitch tracking started in 2008, one more than San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum in 2010 Game 5.
“Obviously the stuff is incredible, but the maturity to go and handle these moments is unbelievable. It was a special thing to watch today,” teammate Bo Bichette said. “I think he’s ultra confident, but you never hear it in the clubhouse, which I think says something about him. He comes here to work and try to help us win. I can’t say enough good things about his performance.”
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, dropped to 0-2 in the Series, allowing five runs, six hits and four walks over 6 2/3 innings.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts shook up his slumping batting order, dropping Mookie Betts as low as third for the first time since 2021 and benching outfielder Andy Pages in favor of Alex Call. It didn’t spark an offense that is hitting .202 in the Series and has solo shots on seven of its eight home runs. Los Angeles has scored just four runs in its last 29 innings.
The Dodgers also threw four wild pitches in a span of two innings.
Davis Schneider, batting first only because regular leadoff hitter George Springer got hurt in Game 3, sent Snell’s first pitch into the left-field bleachers. Guerrero hit the third into the Dodgers’ bullpen for his eighth home run of the postseason.
Davis Schneider mimics different stances during the year, including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Bobby Witt Jr. and even the Dodgers’ Will Smith during the World Series. The part-time outfielder and second baseman was in an old stance of his from the minor leagues against Snell.
Snell started with three fastballs, then avoided another one for 22 consecutive pitches before striking out Andres Giménez with a heater to end the second.
Ernie Clement added a fourth-inning sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead after right fielder Teoscar Hernández came up short on a sliding catch attempt as Daulton Varsho’s drive bounced into the right-field corner for a leadoff triple.
Another run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh by Edgardo Henriquez, who then allowed Bichette’s RBI single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Anthony Banda.
“I think we just want to be the toughest outs we can possibly be,” Bichette said. “We’re a team, man, and we’ll do anything we can to win.”
Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman start Game 6 in a rematch of Game 2, which Los Angeles won 5-1. Yamamoto pitched a four-hitter for the first World Series complete game since 2015 and has pitched the first consecutive postseason complete games since Curt Schilling had three in a row in 2001. Gausman allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Game 6 will be in Toronto on Friday, with Game 7 — if necessary — also in Toronto on Saturday.
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