Rookie pitcher collected 12 strikeouts as Dodgers offense was absent. World Series takes Thursday off for a travel day. It also gives Dodgers manager Dave Roberts time to think as Yoshinobu Yamamoto is probable Game 6 starter at Rogers Centre on Friday night.
Trey Yesavage started the 2025 season in Class A ball. On Wednesday night, he showed that he was the class of the Toronto Blue Jays' pitching rotation.
Yesavage was on the mark and kept the Los Angeles Dodgers in check as the Blue Jays notched a 6-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell gave up solo home runs to Davis Schneider (on the game's first pitch) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (on the game's third pitch). That put Toronto up early 2-0 and they never gave up the lead at all.
Yesavage put on a master class of pitching, something that even Blue Jays manager John Schneider had to be impressed with from his dugout seat. He struck out 12 Dodgers on the night, totally dominating from the get-go.
Anytime the Dodgers might have thought that they could get back into the game, Yesavage just shut them down. He had his fastball and slider working effectively, getting Dodgers hitters to swing and miss a whole lot.
With Toronto now in control of the best-of-seven series with a 3-2 lead and going back home to Rogers Centre, this could not have worked out worse for Los Angeles.
Snell left down 3-1 and the Dodgers bullpen could not keep the game close. Edgardo Henriquez was wild, throwing a wild pitch that was ruled a passed ball to give Toronto a 4-1 lead. Bo Bichette followed with an RBI single and that made it 5-1.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa's RBI single in the eighth made it 6-1. That was Kiner-Falefa's first hit in the 2025 World Series.
Kiké Hernández's solo home run was all the offense that Los Angeles had on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers just have not gotten going at the plate since Freddie Freeman's game-winning home run in the 18-inning, Game 3 marathon on Monday night. This has got to frustrate Dodgers manager Dave Roberts a lot, along with his bullpen woes.
Will Klein, who was the star of the Game 3 win along with Shohei Ohtani, wasn't used on Wednesday night at all. Why? There's no reason at all right now. But Roberts chose Henriquez and Banda, and they really didn't do their job.
More than the relievers, though, it's been the lack of offensive production, up and down the Dodgers lineup, that has kept them out of competition.
In the bottom of the ninth, Will Smith led off with a sharp single to left field. But Mookie Betts flew out to left for the first out. Freddie Freeman struck out. Teoscar Hernández came up as the Dodgers' last hope. He struck out. A fitting ending for a pretty awful night for the Dodgers.
They need to figure out some things quickly.
The 2025 World Series takes Thursday off as a travel day back to Canada. And, oh boy, those fans in Rogers Centre on Friday night are going to be very, very loud.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had a stellar outing at Rogers Centre in a Game 2 win, is the probable starter for the Dodgers. He'll probably go up against Kevin Gausman for the Blue Jays.
The Dodgers had this series where they wanted it. Three games at Dodger Stadium, returning home with a 1-1 series tie. All they had to do was win three straight in front of their home fans.
It didn't happen. If the Dodgers are going to repeat as World Series champions, they will have to do it on the road.