World Series 2025: Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage shuts down Dodgers in dominant Game 5: 'I was hoping I would send 'em home upset' Jake MintzOctober 30, 2025 at 3:22 AM 0 LOS ANGELES — When Trey Yesavage returned to the Blue Jays' clubhouse after pitching the biggest game of his life, a ceramic, pe...
- - World Series 2025: Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage shuts down Dodgers in dominant Game 5: 'I was hoping I would send 'em home upset'
Jake MintzOctober 30, 2025 at 3:22 AM
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LOS ANGELES — When Trey Yesavage returned to the Blue Jays' clubhouse after pitching the biggest game of his life, a ceramic, pear-shaped, $100 bottle of tequila was waiting in his locker.
"I don't know what it is, but he deserved it," Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman said. "But is he even old enough to drink it?"
Yes, by 458 days in the U.S. and by 1,189 in Ontario, Canada. The Dodgers' visiting clubhouse attendants, who left the congratulatory gift in the rookie's locker, likely knew as much. That well-earned jug of Mandala Reposado will accompany Yesavage on the Jays' plane, where the fruits of his labor will surely be shared with many of his teammates. It will be a long flight home but a happy one. That's because the Toronto Blue Jays, after a resounding 6-1 victory in World Series Game 5, are just a single win away from a championship.
They are in that enviable position thanks to back-to-back first-inning ambush home runs from Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a historically brilliant night from Yesavage. Making just his eighth career major-league start and the first road start of his shockingly magnificent postseason, Toronto's well-built hurler delivered one of the most impressive performances in World Series history. Facing a Dodgers lineup composed of future Hall of Famers, MVPs and big-league veterans, Yesavage — who is less than 17 months removed from his final collegiate outing — was borderline untouchable.
That he was even on the mound Wednesday at Dodger Stadium was remarkable. That he commanded it with such poise was downright unbelievable.
"I go back to, like, how I came to the big leagues," future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer said. "I couldn't imagine, in that 2008 season, ending up in the World Series pitching. It's unbelievable."
It is a stunning reality that the kid who might have just prevented the birth of a sports dynasty was majoring in communication 18 months ago. In fact, five days after Shohei Ohtani, the centerpiece of this Dodgers juggernaut, signed his landmark, $700 million free-agent deal, Yesavage, then a junior at East Carolina University, attended a college formal. Two days after Ohtani made his Dodgers debut, Yesavage got torched by the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners for eight hits and four runs across five innings.
He was much better on Wednesday.
"Historic stuff," Jays manager John Schnieder raved afterward. "When you talk about that stage and his numbers, 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 thing to be in the zone and get some swing-and-miss."
In Game 5, Yesavage conjured a whopping 23 whiffs across seven masterful innings, allowing a single run on a Kiké Hernández solo shot in the third. He surrendered just two other hits and did not issue a walk. He sat down every Dodger at least once, finishing the night with 12 strikeouts. Leaning heavily on his slider — generally considered his least effective pitch — Yesavage kept the L.A. lineup off-balance and out of sorts. At no point did the 22-year-old appear remotely bothered by the gravity of the moment.
"He's just completely composed," Toronto veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt said. "Like, the moment's not too big for him, which is crazy for how young he is."
The last time Yesavage pitched this deep into a game? "It has to be a regional game in college against Wake Forest last year," he said.
[Get more Toronto news: Blue Jays team feed]
Yesavage's comfort level was apparent on his sixth pitch of the game, when Ohtani chopped one weakly back to the pitcher, who flailed at the bounding ball with an awkward half-leap. That caused the pill to pop out of his mitt and into the air, eliciting a hopeful "oooh" from the Dodger Stadium crowd. But that stumble didn't bother Yesavage, who casually corralled the pearl and flicked it to Guerrero for the first out of the frame.
The one blemish of Yesavage's night — Hernández's 16th career playoff homer — didn't stick to him, either. Perhaps that's because he barely saw it. The instant Hernández made contact, Toronto's hurler appeared to purposefully keep his gaze averted. His eyes remained straight ahead, but, crucially, his head did not drop. Instead, Yesavage calmly circled the mound, received a new baseball and got back to work.
Four frames later, he walked off the mound a hero after extracting a crucial, inning-ending double play to preserve Toronto's lead. Yesavage roared and slapped his glove as he bounced into the dugout. Jays skipper Schneider gave him an emphatic hug and handshake. His teammates hooted and hollered their congratulations.
I think my favorite part about this video is Vladdy waiting at the end of the tunnel there. He's turned into such a great, mature leader for this team. Just another big development leading to this unexpected turnaround season. #WANTITALL pic.twitter.com/3XlP5cVsOr
— MICHAEL DISTEFANO (@mickey_canuck) October 30, 2025
It was dreamland stuff for a guy taken 20th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. From there, Yesavage did not throw in a game the rest of last season, as the Jays limited his workload as they onboarded him into professional baseball. After spending spring training 2025 on the minor-league side — changing every day in an entirely different clubhouse than most of his current teammates — Yesavage began his professional baseball journey at the team's Low-A affiliate in Dunedin, Florida.
Just 327 fans attended his first start of the year. Just 189 attended his fourth. A reported 52,175 — including Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron and Pat Sajak — watched Yesavage crush Dodger dreams on Wednesday.
"Walking from the bullpen to the dugout, I took a moment to look around the stadium, see all the fans," Yesavage said afterward. "I wanted to, I was hoping I would send 'em home upset."
Game 5 was an uncharacteristically meek showing from the defending champions, whose super-powered offense has gone conspicuously quiet at the worst possible time. The Dodgers, as a team, are now hitting just .201 in this Fall Classic.
That's a big part of why, as the series reaches its final act, the Blue Jays are in control. Their task remains formidable, with L.A. sending Yoshinobu Yamamoto and his two straight playoff complete games to the hill in Game 6. Toronto will counter with ace Kevin Gausman, who pitched in 373 MLB games, including 12 in the playoffs, before making his first career World Series start in Game 2.
When Gausman signed as a free agent with the Jays in December 2021, Yesavage couldn't buy a drink on either side of the border. Yet the youngster is the one passing the baton to Gausman, who will carry the hopes of a nation when he toes the slab Friday.
Yesavage almost certainly won't figure in that game. But if the Dodgers extend the series to a Game 7, in which the 22-year-old could be available out of the 'pen, don't rule out one final moment for this October's unlikeliest main character.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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