LOS ANGELES – Minutes before Game 5 of the World Series Trey Yesavage was under attack. Warming up in the visitors' bullpen in right field at Dodger Stadium, surrounded by Los Angeles Dodgers fans on both sides, the 22-year-old Toronto Blue Jays right-handed rookie endured a wide variety of abuse. At one point, Yesavage sighed, stepped off the mound and turned to pitching coach Pete Walker.
“It’s fun,” Yesavage said. “I like it.”
Of all the incredible events on the Blue Jays' road to their first championship in more than 30 years, none quite compares to Yesavage's emergence. His first game of the season was in April in Jupiter, Fla., for Single-A Dunedin. There were 327 fans present at the stadium. His latest effort Wednesday night was a seven-inning, no-walk, 12-strikeout masterpiece that stymied the Blue Jays. 6-1 victory and sent them back to Toronto one win away from the World Series title. It was a performance that silenced the chattering masses in right field and the rest of the 52,175 people who saw an unprecedented performance from a pitcher throwing the ball in his eighth major league game.
Against a lineup featuring three future Hall of Famers, in front of a crowd that understood the desperation Los Angeles would face if they lost Game 5, Yesavage devastated the Dodgers time and time again. They swung and missed 23 times on his fadeaway splitter, fast slider and fastball. When they did make contact, it was mostly weak; single home run out Kike Hernandez constituted their only run. Yesavage carved them into the shape of a pumpkin, which is fitting considering the Blue Jays will try to secure their first championship since 1993 on Halloween.
Partly because the guy, the 20th overall pick in last year's draft, went from Single-A to High-A to Double-A to Triple-A to the big leagues, where almost immediately everyone around him understood how he had made his ascent. Yes, Yesavage is doing badly, but his demeanor—a country boy who views the big city as just one more thing to conquer—exudes calm and confidence without an ounce of arrogance.
After Toronto won Game 5 with a home run Davis Schneider And Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. on the first and third pitches they put them ahead, which they did not yield to, Chris Bassitt And Shane Bieberwho together pitched over 2,000 major league innings and made 359 major league starts sat next to each other in the clubhouse and simply admired. They've known Yesavage for six weeks, and each of his appearances—whether shutting out Tampa Bay in his debut or throwing 5⅓ no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts against the Yankees in his postseason debut—reinforces what they find most impressive about him.
“How he made Game 5 of the World Series mentally feel like any other day,” Bassitt said. “It could have been May. It's impossible to say. He's just calm and truly believes in himself.”
Bieber said: “It would be easy to say that ignorance is bliss, but I don’t think that’s the case. It's having complete confidence in yourself, your game plan and your stuff. When he got it, he got it. Look into his eyes. And he had it.”
Bassitt continued.
“When he starts his splitter, I think he knows the other team doesn't have a chance,” he said. “Because no one could understand it. In the beginning, when he was going to break up, it was like, buckle up because you guys are going to be in trouble.”
The issue doesn't fully describe the Dodgers' futility against Yesavage in Game 5. In Game 1, he played out of control of his splitter, leaving him to navigate Los Angeles' lineup. Between this week's bullpen session and Tuesday's game, Yesavage said he found his separation grip and came into Wednesday believing in it. He woke up at 8:30 a.m., called his girlfriend, ate an egg sandwich and two slices of sausage at breakfast with his parents and brother, took a shower and relaxed on the outdoor deck of his hotel room with his family. He went to the stadium ready to perform.
And once there, he made history by striking out more batters than any previous rookie in a World Series start.
“I saw something on Instagram where someone took a video of me on my phone and said I was locked,” Yesavage said, “but I was just scrolling through videos on TikTok and Instagram. I just keep myself as calm as possible. I don't change anything I tell myself, but I'm also here to go to work. I try not to think about anything.”
With his head empty of worry and his hands full of energy, Yesavage stood at the top of the hill opposite the two-time Cy Young winner. Blake Snell and surpassed him. Yesavage felt good in the first inning. After hitting the side in the second, good turned great. And from that point on, every pitch was an effort to emasculate—fastballs in the zone from the top arm slot in the major leagues, and splitters and sliders in the bottom half that tease and tempt hitters to swing even when they know they shouldn't. Yesavage hunts strikeouts like he hunts prey, a quality that has earned him the attention of another veteran Blue Jays starter.
“When they pulled him after throwing 78 pitches in the Yankees' home opener,” Max Scherzer said, “I was like, 'Hey, would you go back there and just get through it?' And he said, “No, I’m trying to cross everyone out.”
Scherzer smiled.
“I know exactly what he's talking about,” said Scherzer, who has 3,489 career knockouts. “You start smelling it. You start sniffing, that's how I get you. I'm here to hit you.”
On Wednesday, Yesavage's olfactory glands were in overdrive. He struck out all of the Dodgers' starters and gave them their No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters. Will Smith, Mookie Betts And Freddie Freemantwice apiece. Yesavage's girlfriend, Taylor Frick, sent him photos of herself crying happy tears throughout the game. Scherzer, manic as ever, celebrated the double play by throwing sunflower seeds at the dugout wall. After such a performance, at such a big moment, showing emotion is more than acceptable.
Meanwhile, Yesavage remained cool. Sometimes it makes it easy to forget how new it all is. He and Bieber recently talked about introducing Yesavage to some high-end alcohol to enjoy the big league swag.
“Do you like tequila?” Bieber said.
“I’m 22,” Yesavage said.
Bieber chuckled.
“You just went to college, didn’t you?” – he said.
He was at East Carolina where he played in big games in front of big crowds at North Carolina and NC State. But there was nothing like that. Dodgers fans are notorious for their merciless behavior in right field, ruthless, nasty and boundary-crushing – all part of the experience. Yesavage, who led his team in the first game, was given the full range of options.
“If I was a Dodgers fan, I would try to scare him off too,” Bassitt said. “Given the fact that he is 22 years old. Considering the fact that he hardly played on the road. Given the fact that this is the World Series. I would talk shit. But the reality is, I don't think many people realize that it doesn't bother him. He was like, just wait until I get out on the mound. I'll show you.”
He showed them everything. On 104 pitches, each bearing the burden of a nation, he channeled his pre-game feelings into something bigger and better.
It was fun. And he had every reason to love him.
