The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday to head home within one win of their first World Series championship since 1993.
Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage allowed one earned run on three hits with zero walks and 12 strikeouts in a record-setting performance to earn the victory.
The 22-year-old broke Don Newcombe’s 1949 mark for most strikeouts by a rookie in a single World Series game.
“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 postgame, according to Ronald Blum of The Associated Press. “Just stay in the strike zone and get ahead.”
Bo Bichette, who chipped in with a RBI single, was left in awe after watching Yesavage carve up the Dodgers.
“Obviously the stuff is incredible, but the maturity to go and handle these moments is unbelievable,” Bichette, said. “It was a special thing to watch today.”
Teams that’ve taken a 3-2 lead by winning Game 5 on the road before returning home in the current 2-3-2 format have won the World Series 20 out of 27 times, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Davis Schneider got the Blue Jays on the board immediately with a leadoff home run against left-hander Blake Snell.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed another homer off Snell two pitches later, making Toronto the first team ever to open a World Series game with back-to-back round-trippers.
Guerrero is two homers away from tying Randy Arozarena’s all-time playoff record of 10 set during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also added RBIs, while Addison Barger collected two hits.
The Dodgers mustered just four hits in the loss, including a solo homer from Enrique Hernández in the third inning. Snell allowed five earned runs on six hits with four walks and seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings on 116 pitches. The two-time Cy Young winner has surrendered 10 earned runs in the World Series after giving up a combined two earned runs in his previous three starts in the 2025 postseason.
The Blue Jays will have a chance to win the Fall Classic on Friday when the series shifts to the Rogers Centre for Game 6.
“I can’t wait to see what Rogers Centre is going to look, feel, and sound like,” Schneider said, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
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