Trey Yesavage’s Game 5 gem puts Blue Jays one win away from World Series crown

LOS ANGELES — As vaunted as this Dodgers starting rotation — headed by Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — was as this World Series began, it’s the Blue Jays now on the cusp of a championship because of proficiency in that area. 

Trey Yesavage’s legend only grew Wednesday night as the rookie, who began the season pitching in Single-A, tamed the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series. It’s the Blue Jays’ series to lose heading home following a 6-1 victory over the defending champions at Dodger Stadium. 

Yesavage, 22, set a World Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts on a night he allowed one earned run on three hits over seven innings. 

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“Historic stuff when you talk about that stage and those numbers,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He was getting ahead of a lot of hitters, tons of swing and miss. It’s one thing to be in the zone and it’s another to be in the zone and get some swing and miss.” 

Yesavage’s dominance followed Shane Bieber’s strong start into the sixth inning a night earlier, when he allowed one earned run. 

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A talented Dodgers lineup has scored only four runs over the last 29 innings. That includes Monday, when the team went 10 innings without scoring until Freddie Freeman’s homer in the 18th won it. 

Yesavage didn’t debut in the major leagues for the Blue Jays until Sept. 15, but has emerged as a force. His list of credits has included an 11-strikeout performance against the Yankees in the ALDS. He was also the winning pitcher against the Mariners in Game 6 of the ALCS. 

“It’s been a crazy year, but being surrounded by the veterans is a great thing for the future of my career,” Yesavage said. 

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The Blue Jays moved within a victory of the franchise’s first World Series title since 1993. If the Dodgers need inspiration, they can look toward the Blue Jays, who were in a 3-2 series hole against the Mariners in the ALCS before rallying to win the pennant. But if the Dodgers are to finish business in this series it will have to be on the road — unlike the Blue Jays, who had the comforts of home in rallying to win the ALCS. 

Snell was shaky in losing his second straight start in this series. The left-hander lasted 6 ²/₃ innings and allowed five earned runs on six hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. 

Davis Schneider launched the game’s first pitch for a homer and the ensuing batter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., hit a no-doubter into the left field bullpen. It marked the first time in World Series history that consecutive homers were hit by a team leading off the game. 

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“Those guys set the tone, put us in control early and we didn’t lose that,” Yesavage said. 

Guerrero, who went deep for the second straight night, has eight homers this postseason, matching Shohei Ohtani in that category. 

Enrique Hernández homered in the third inning to slice the Blue Jays’ lead to 2-1. The blast snapped a streak of five straight strikeouts by Yesavage, who struck out the side in the second. 

Daulton Varsho tripled leading off the fourth — Teoscar Hernández went for the sliding catch in right field and missed, with the ball rolling behind him — before Ernie Clement hit a sacrifice fly that extended Toronto’s lead to 3-1. 

Yesavage plunked Freddie Freeman in the fourth and allowed an infield single to Teoscar Hernández before retiring Tommy Edman for the final out. 

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Snell walked Schneider leading off the fifth, but got Guerrero to ground into a double play on a comebacker before retiring Bo Bichette to end the inning. 

The Blue Jays built a cushion in the seventh. After Addison Barger singled and scored on three straight wild pitches (two by Snell and another by Edgardo Henriquez) Guerrero stroked an RBI single that extended Toronto’s lead to 5-1. 

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“I pushed Blake as much as I pushed him all year,” Roberts said. “If you look at the three games we lost, it spiraled on us with guys on base.” 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s RBI single in the eighth buried the Dodgers in a 6-1 hole. Clement singled leading off the frame and Anthony Banda’s wild pitch — the Dodgers’ fourth of the night — moved the runner into scoring position. 

“Now we’re at elimination,” Roberts said. “We have got to … find a way to win Game 6 and pick up the pieces and see where we’re at.”