When the Toronto Blue Jays tabbed Trey Yesavage with the 20th-overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the right-hander was deemed one of the most pro-ready pitchers in the class. But not even the most bullish analyst would have had Yesavage rewriting World Series records a little more than 16 months later.
Well, after Wednesday’s 12-strikeout performance — the most by a rookie in a World Series game — Yesavage both etched his name in Fall Classic lore and guided Toronto to a 3-2 series lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, just one win away from the third title in franchise history.
Beyond Yesavage’s dominance, the Blue Jays punched first in Game 5. Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went back-to-back within the first three pitches of the game, silencing Dodger Stadium before all the fans had even settled into their seats.
The World Series will now shift back to Toronto, where Los Angeles will turn to Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Friday night in hopes of forcing a Game 7.
Before the action resumes, here is a sampling of what American MLB analysts are saying about the Blue Jays taking control of the series and moving one victory away from dethroning the reigning champs.
FanGraphs — A Tale of Two Adjustments: Blue Jays Seize 3-2 World Series Advantage
After both Yesavage and Blake Snell struggled in their Game 1 performances, Wednesday’s rematch gave both starters a chance to adjust and come out with a new game plan.
Things clearly went better for Yesavage the second time around, as the rookie found his splitter to dominate the Dodgers’ lineup after throwing his trademark offering just 10 times in their first matchup.
His bounceback was a major focus in Ben Clemens’ game recap at FanGraphs.
“Yesavage attacked the Dodgers lineup with his customary head-on mindset. He briefly became an avatar of true outcomes; he peeled off five strikeouts in a row, then served up a mammoth home run to Enrique Hernández in the third. But homer or not, Yesavage’s stuff was absolutely humming in Game 5. He struck out Ohtani, Will Smith, and Mookie Betts in succession to push his tally to eight…
“This is, essentially, the ideal form of Yesavage. His unorthodox delivery and weirdo, backwards-movement slider keep hitters off balance. Fastballs explode down from his high release point. His splitter makes everything else play up, because hitters have to account for it and yet still usually come up empty. The Dodgers had no answers.”
By the end of the night, Yesavage had become the first pitcher in World Series history with 12 strikeouts and no walks, the first rookie with multiple 10+ strikeout games in a post-season and the rookie with the most punchouts in a single playoff run.
Los Angeles Times — Dodgers’ offensive woes send them into a World Series tailspin with Game 5 loss
The vibes may have never been higher in Toronto, but in L.A., questions about the Dodgers’ performance in this series have begun to crop up.
In dropping Games 4 and 5, the Dodgers lost back-to-back games for the first time in these playoffs and have been pushed to the brink.
Much of the concern centres on Los Angeles’ high-powered offence, which has been uncharacteristically quiet for much of the post-season and got a pre-game shuffle on Wednesday — something that the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris covered after the loss.
“Over this Fall Classic, their once-overlooked offensive worries escalated into full-blown panic alarms. In their previous 20 innings entering Game 5, the Dodgers scored just three times.
“The pressure reached a tipping point Wednesday, when the Dodgers announced a notable shake-up to their lineup. Slumping shortstop Mookie Betts was dropped from second to third in the batting order, with Will Smith moving up to hit behind Shohei Ohtani. Andy Pages was also dropped to the bench after struggling mightily as the team’s No. 9 hitter, replaced by the more contact-minded Alex Call in a rearranged Dodgers outfield.”
Of course, the lineup adjustments didn’t produce more offence for the Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts. Betts remained mired in his slump with an 0-for-4, two-strikeout game, and Call didn’t provide a spark at the bottom of the lineup, only reaching base on an eighth-inning walk and was eventually stranded by Ohtani one batter later.
If Los Angeles hopes to defend its crown, it will need to find a way to solve the Blue Jays’ pitching staff in Toronto.
USA Today — Would Blue Jays World Series win reshape baseball? Toronto says it’s ‘our time’
With the Blue Jays one win away from a World Series celebration 32 years in the making, the prospect of a Canadian baseball title in the 21st Century has quite literally never been closer.
Just one season after winning 74 games and finishing in the basement of the AL East, the Blue Jays have flipped the script in 2025. They leaned into their unique brand of baseball and relied on their mixed cast of unheralded names and established superstars to capture the imagination of a country with the calendar nearing November.
But as USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale writes, the Blue Jays have made a believer out of many south of the border, too.
“The Blue Jays, who won the AL East on a final day tie-breaker, avoided elimination twice to beat the Seattle Mariners for the American League pennant, have suddenly turned this World Series upside down...
“It’s the Dodgers and their four future Hall of Famers who suddenly are mumbling to themselves wondering what has happened.
“And it’s the Blue Jays, those lovable characters north of the border, who are about to turn Toronto into baseball utopia….
“Now, they’ve got the whole baseball universe believing.“
