With the 2025 World Series returning to Toronto for Game 6 on Friday, there will be no baseball tonight, which is a good thing because we'll need another day to get over what Trey Yesavage did on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Jays pitcher managed to throw 12 — yes, twelve — strikeouts on just over 100 pitches during his Game 5 start at Dodger Stadium, breaking the Major League Baseball (MLB) record for most strikeouts by a rookie in a postseason game.
In fact, no one has topped that record since 1949, when Don Newcomb scored 11 runs. At the time, Newcomb was playing for none other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Moreover, Yesavage is in a league of his own as the only pitcher in MLB history to record 12 strikeouts in a World Series game without throwing a walk.
You heard it, zero walks. The only damage during his outing came with a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning.
Here's another impressive stat: Yesavage lasted seven innings on Wednesday, which is quite an accomplishment. postseason feat.
Especially in this series, where the starters didn't last long except for Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto's impressive performance in Game 2 on Saturday.
Yesavage has now pitched 11 innings since the start of the World Series after pitching three innings in Game 1.
All this in itself would be impressive. But it's even more stunning when you consider how new Yesavage is. Just six weeks ago he was still playing in the minor leagues.
He started the year playing minor league ball for the Dunedin Blue Jays in Florida and rocketed through several other minor league teams before being called up to pitch with Toronto in mid-September.
He had just three career starts for the Jays before making his playoff debut in Game 2 against the New York Janis during the American League Division Series.
Cheat code
This is all very interesting for someone who saw the Yesavage presentation at a young age.
When he was a teenager playing for the Keystone State Bombers in Pennsylvania, the team's nickname was Yesavage: The Cheat Code.
“Because every time you put Trey in the game, you won,” said Sean Vernesoni, former Yesavage coach and co-owner of that team. “It’s great to see it being translated to the highest level here.”
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage has always been a unique pitcher, says Sean Vernesoni, co-owner of the Keystone State Bombers and Yesavage's former pitching coach. “He was always the same: he dominated.”
That's what Jays manager John Schneider realized based on Yesavage's minor league performance.
“The fact that we were willing to throw him right into the fire because we had confidence in the work he had done … speaks volumes about how we feel about everyone in the organization, not just the players but the staff,” Schneider said.
It all seems to have paid off for the Jays as they continue to compete for their first World Series title since 1993 – a decade before Yesavage was even born.
Crossing out MVP
A couple more numbers from Game 5: Yesavage had 23 hits and a walk on 52 hits, the most of any pitcher in a World Series game since tracking began, according to the data. MLB.com.
Additionally, the 23 whiffs Yesavage managed to generate represented the most by a pitcher in the World Series since Statcast began tracking them in 2008, according to MLB.
Yesavage's rise comes at a pivotal time for the Jays as they look to defeat the Dodgers, the defending champions who have one of the most impressive rosters in the league.
But the starting pitcher didn't allow himself to get too impressed by the Hall of Fame stars on Los Angeles' multimillion-dollar roster.
On Wednesday, Yesavage knocked out every player on the Dodgers roster at least once, including Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman. Ohtani has three MVP titles, while Freeman and Betts have one each.
“Thirty-three percent of the hitters Trey faces are MVP award winners, so I have to be honest with you, I get a little nervous watching him,” Vernesoni told CBC News Network on Thursday.
Yesawaja's former coach recalled the player reaching 90 mph for the first time at age 15, “which was quite a feat.”
Vernesoni says that even at that age the young player had a unique talent. release point and lever an angle that made it difficult to hit.
Also impressive were his poise on the mound during Game 5 and his superior command of pitches, including a split-finger fastball and slider, Schneider said.
“Historical stuff, when you talk about this pitch and the numbers, getting ahead of a lot of hitters, tons of swings and misses,” the Jays manager said. “The slider and divider were electric.”
The Toronto Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at home on Friday night. This could be the team's last World Series game this postseason. CBC hears from Jay's fans about their superstitious habits, vintage goods and viewing party plans.
Yesavage's performance on Wednesday certainly froze the Dodgers at the plate, but it also helped the Jays move on to their next challenge, and they're already focused on that.
The team is now just one win away from the World Series title. So what's next for Game 6 at home in Toronto?
“I can’t wait to see what the Rogers Center will look, feel and sound like,” Schneider said.
