Toronto Blue Jays’ Trey Yesavage set a World Series rookie strikeout record against the Los Angeles Dodgers, building a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven game.
The Toronto Blue Jays rode an outstanding performance from rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage and an explosive start at the plate to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Wednesday, moving them one win away from winning the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series for the first time in more than 30 years.
Yesavage, 22, was nothing short of sensational, setting a World Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts, breaking a record that had stood since 1949.
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The right-hander continued his breakout season by striking out every Dodger in the lineup at least once and holding Los Angeles to three hits and no walks in seven innings.
The Blue Jays got off to a dream start as Davis Schneider homered off Los Angeles starting pitcher Blake Snell’s first pitch, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit another blast two pitches later.
It was the first time in World Series history that a team started a game with back-to-back home runs, and Guerrero Jr. tied the record for the second-most postseason home runs in MLB history with his eighth round-trip home run.
Quique Hernandez hit a solo shot off Yesavage in the third inning, electrifying the home crowd again with his first home run of the postseason and putting the Dodgers on the scoreboard.
But Toronto regained a two-run lead in the top of the fourth inning after a dangerous play by Teoscar Hernandez, Dalton Varsho tripled with a liner and scored on Ernie Clement’s sacrifice fly.
Snell overcame the early damage and held on until the seventh inning, throwing 116 pitches, the third most of his career, before coming off with two on and two out, pitching two wild pitches, and his second pitch advanced Addison Berger to third base and walked Andres Jimenez.
Reliever Edgardo Enriquez took over the jam and threw a wild pitch to Guerrero Jr. that broke up the inning, allowing Berger to score and make it 4-1. Bo Bichette singled to right, bringing in Jimenez and extending Toronto’s lead to 5-1.
Toronto added another run in the eighth inning on Ernie Clement’s single, advanced to second base on Anthony Banda’s wild pitch, and scored on Isaiah Kiner-Falefa’s single from third base to make it 6-1, drawing boos from the Dodger Stadium crowd.
The Dodgers were quiet in the final two frames, ending the eighth inning with Shohei Ohtani with a runner on first base, while Mookie Betts struck out and Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez struck out in the ninth.
Dodgers searching for answers
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised Yesavage, but expressed frustration with missed opportunities and his team’s offensive struggles.
Manager Roberts told reporters, “If you give up a base, your batting lineup will change, which will affect future games.” “Blake pitched a great ball game, but the runs and inability to get outs came back to hurt us tonight…We’re in the elimination stage right now and have to find a way to clean up the slate and win Game 6.”
“We’re not doing a good job. We’ve got to adjust and come fresh and compete. That’s all we can do.”
Of Yesavage’s outing, he added: “He was very calm. There was no panic. His performance was very impressive.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider also praised the rookie.
“It’s historic. His slider and splits were shocking. Tonight he was in the zone and he struck out,” he said.
The Blue Jays return home with a 3-2 series lead and will look to win their first World Series title since 1993 with Kevin Guzman facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 6, a potential championship game, with Ohtani starting as a reliever for the first time.
“It feels great to hand the ball to Kevin Gausman in Game 6,” Schneider added. “It was another tough match against Yamamoto, but it was a very good win for the team.”
