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This World Series was always Goliath vs. Goliath — as straightforward as the two best teams standing. And now the Blue Jays are one win from proving to be the best.
Led by Trey Yesavage’s legendary 12-strikeout performance, the Blue Jays took control of Wednesday’s decisive Game 5 at the Chavez Ravine. They now head back to Canada with a 3-2 advantage in the World Series, with only 27 more outs separating them from winning their first championship in 32 years.
Here are my takeaways:
1. First-inning Fireworks
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Before people even settled into their seats, the Blue Jays took an impressive 2-0 lead.
Think about all the talented hitters that have united for a top-of-the-order tandem in the Fall Classic. Pete Rose and Joe Morgan leading off for the Big Red Machine dynasty. George Springer and Alex Bregman for the 2017 Astros. Rickey Henderson and Carney Lansford for the 1989 Oakland A’s. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts for the 2024 Dodgers.
Now consider this: Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. became the first players to hit back-to-back home runs to lead off a game in World Series history when they took Blake Snell deep in the first inning of Game 5. It was an ambush.
Snell didn’t have time to collect himself after Schneider became the fifth player to hit the first pitch of a World Series game for a home run, joining Derek Jeter (Game 4, 2000), Alcides Escobar (Game 1, 2015, inside-the-park), Chris Taylor (Game 1, 2017), and Jorge Soler (Game 1, 2021).
Davis Schneider & Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit back-to-back home runs to give Blue Jays early lead over Dodgers
2. Trey’s Tour de Force
Trey Yesavage was filthy, lights out, electric, and, ultimately, untouchable. The Blue Jays’ brilliant prodigy perplexed the Dodgers lineup from the moment he delivered his first pitch. Yesavage had four consecutive strikeouts by the end of the second inning, and added another to start the top of the third.
His strikeout count was up to eight by the time he walked off the mound after the fourth. He kept deploying an unhittable splitter. Finally, showing off in front of Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, who had a front-row seat at Dodger Stadium, Yesavage struck out 12 across seven innings.
It was simply masterful. Yesavage became the first rookie with 10 or more strikeouts in a World Series game since Don Newcombe whiffed 11 Yankees in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series. He passed Smoky Joe Wood, who fanned 11 New York Giants in 1912 for the most strikeouts in a World Series game for a pitcher aged 22 or younger. That’s how rare it is to see a rookie pitcher like Yesavage dominate on the sport’s biggest stage. The Blue Jays can thank the right-hander who, just seven weeks ago, was pitching for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, for being one win away from becoming world champions.
3. Snell Recovers, Offense Stumbles
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
After allowing two home runs on his fastball in the first inning, Snell stayed away from his heater for 22 consecutive pitches. It wasn’t until he got ahead of Andres Gimenez on an 0-2 count that he went back to the four-seamer, using it to whiff the Blue Jays shortstop for the final out of the second inning. The fastball was back in play for the remainder of his 6 ⅔ -inning outing. This was the same pitch that gave Snell trouble in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
Afterward, he said he had “a lot to learn” against a relentless Blue Jays offense. In Game 5, we saw how much he’d adjusted. Over 115 pitches, Snell limited Toronto’s gritty offense to three runs while striking out seven batters. He adjusted and kept his team in the game after that ugly opening frame, before the bullpen allowed a pair of inherited runners to score in the seventh to deepen Los Angeles’ deficit.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
But just like we saw in Game 4, the Dodgers bats didn’t do enough to support their starting pitcher’s fortitude. Shohei Ohtani called out the offense after Game 4’s loss, saying: “We could do at least the bare minimum to be able to put up some runs.” Instead, they’ve only scored just four times over their last 29 frames.
Kiké Hernández responded by putting the Dodgers on the board with a solo shot in the third inning off Yesavage. But that was all Los Angeles could muster. No matter how strong their starting pitchers have been, the Dodgers can’t win without giving them support. The clock is running out to get a spark going.
4. Death by a Thousand Cuts
(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Once again, the Blue Jays flipped the script. When the Dodgers were heavily favored to dazzle the world with their star-studded, uber-talented offense, it was Toronto’s bats that became inevitable. Hacking away and adding on runs little by little, the Dodgers have officially become the Jays’ latest victim. This October, they took down the powerful Yankees pitching staff. Then they bombarded the Mariners’ terrific rotation. And now they’ve dismantled Dodgers arms by sticking to their proven approach.
Sometimes, they slug (like we saw in the first inning). Other times, they just make contact and take their free passes (like we saw in the seventh). Addison Barger singled to left, Andres Gimenez and Guerrero Jr. drew walks, and the Jays flooded the basepaths and rattled Snell and reliever Edgardo Henriquez enough to force them to make mistakes on wild pitches that led to more runs. Bo Bichette extended their lead to 5-1 with an RBI single to right. In the eighth, Ernie Clement led off with a single before Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove him in with another RBI single to left.
All postseason, the damage has been slow, painful, and unavoidable for opposing teams standing in the Jays’ way. It’s just a matter of time before they break through.
Bo Bichette on Blue Jays’ WORLD SERIES GAME 5 WIN vs. Dodgers & Mindset Coming Back from Injury 😤
4 ½. What’s next?
In a must-win game, it will be up to Yoshinobu Yamamoto to keep the Dodgers’ dreams of repeating alive, and that’s exactly who they want on the mound in the most important game of their season. Yamamoto will be going for his third consecutive complete game in the postseason, a feat that was last achieved by Curt Schilling for the Diamondbacks in 2001. Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman will take the mound aiming to deliver the Blue Jays their championship trophy. Buckle up. Game 6 will take place on Friday night at the Rogers Centre.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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