Party like it's 1993? Blue Jays on brink of World Series title after silencing Dodgers

LOS ANGELES – Trey Yesavage has an awfully long way to go to reach Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s status in the pantheon of Toronto Blue Jays greats.

Yet the rookie less than two months removed from his major league debut and the veteran committed to staying in Canada until the end of the next decade have collaborated on two of the greatest postseason runs in major league history to push the Blue Jays to the verge of their first World Series championship in 32 years.

Yesavage, whose climb from Single-A through the entire Toronto minor league system this year mirrored the Blue Jays’ subtle emergence as a power, struck out 12 Los Angeles Dodgers – every single one of them, from the inevitable Hall of Famers to the part-timers – over seven steely innings as the Blue Jays claimed Game 5 of this World Series with a 6-1 victory before an increasingly muted 52,175 onlookers at Dodger Stadium.

The Blue Jays will fly home with the most unlikely prize in their possession: A 3-2 World Series lead and two chances to finish off the defending champion Dodgers inside Rogers Centre, where hearing the person next to you might prove to be challenging come Game 6 on Oct. 31.

Unlikely, because just a few hours ago – or so it seems – the Blue Jays walked off the Dodger Stadium turf on the wrong end of a 6-5, 18-inning defeat that gave L.A. a 2-1 Series advantage and a chance to nail it down at home.

Instead, Guerrero hit moonshot home runs in the third inning of Game 4 and on the third pitch of Game 5 – the latter following Davis Schneider’s first-pitch leadoff shot off Blake Snell – to tilt the Series leverage Toronto’s way.

As for Yesavage?

Well, the man did not make his MLB debut until Sept. 15, and then not quite three weeks later found himself the No. 2 man in the AL East champion Blue Jays’ playoff rotation.

Now, he’s taken down the Yankees, saved Toronto’s season with a Game 6 ALCS conquest of Seattle and then, the World Series hanging in the balance, dominated the defending champions.

With their offense foundering for most of this playoff run, manager Dave Roberts shook up the offense, inserting Will Smith in the two hole and moving Mookie Betts to No. 3 and Freddie Freeman to cleanup.

Whatever. That quartet combined to go 0 for 11 with seven strikeouts against Yesavage, who splendidly mixed his fastball, slider and highly celebrated split-finger fastball to great success.

By night’s end, Yesavage had thrown his slider 43% of the time, his split 29% and fastball 28%, the diversity of usage keeping the Dodgers off balance all night.

And by the time he finished his night by inducing Tommy Edman to hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the seventh, Yesavage was in the record books.

His 39 postseason strikeouts set a record for rookie pitchers, powering past World Series-winning arms like Madison Bumgarner, Livan Hernández and Fernando Valenzuela.

His 1.04 postseason WHIP is a sparkling testament to his ability to keep the basepaths clean. And three of the Blue Jays’ 10 wins – just one more will make them champions – have come in games he’s started.

As for Guerrero?

In 16 postseason games, he has hit eight home runs – a dinger every other game is a mighty fine diet – while batting .429 with a .513 on-base percentage and a cartoonish 1.370 OPS. He’s now moved past the great Ohtani with 15 RBIs this October.

It was Guerrero’s arrival in 2019 that heralded a new, promising era of Blue Jays baseball. The building blocks kept arriving, the big paychecks flowing until one finally found Guerrero – 14 years, $500 million to be a Blue Jay for life.

Yet the final piece proved to be the most unlikely. No one foresaw this from Yesavage. But the Blue Jays aren’t about to question the how. Not when a championship is just one win away.

Here's how Game 5 unfolded in Los Angeles:

Trey Yesavage sets rookie World Series strikeout record

In the seventh inning, Trey Yesavage set a rookie World Series record with his 12th strikeout of the night. With a runner on first and one out, Yesavage got Tommy Edman to hit into an inning-ending double play and send the game to the eighth.

Toronto leads 5-1.

Blue Jays tacking on in the seventh

Blake Snell began the seventh for the Dodgers and he got two outs but the Blue Jays had runners on first and third when he was replaced by Edgardo Henriquez. Henriquez unloaded a wild pitch on a ball four to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., bringing Addison Barger in to score a crucial insurance run. The next batter Bo Bichette hit an RBI single to right to extend Toronto's lead to 5-1.

Snell threw 116 pitches.

To the seventh: Blue Jays 3, Dodgers 1

Trey Yesavage set down Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Mookie Betts in the bottom of the sixth, and is at 11 strikeouts and 89 pitches with the Blue Jays up 3-1 heading into the 7th.

Trey Yesavage locked in with 10 strikeouts through five

Trey Yesavage has 10 strikeouts through five innings in Game 5, and the contest heads to the sixth inning with the Blue Jays still up 3-1.

Yesavage now has 37 strikeouts in the 2025 playoffs, a new rookie record for a single postseason.

Ernie Clement sacrifice fly makes it 3-1 Blue Jays

Dautlon Varsho led off the top of the fourth with a triple into the right-field corner aided by Teoscar Hernandez's mistimed slide. He came in to score when the next batter, Ernie Clement, hit a sacrifice fly to center field.

Kiké Hernández home run pulls one back for Dodgers

Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage had racked up five consecutive strikeouts until Kiké Hernández crushed a solo home run to left field with one out in the bottom of the third. The Blue Jays lead 2-1 heading into the fourth inning.

“These are the games I live for,” Hernández said before the World Series. “In life, you get put on the planet to do certain things. And for me, I feel like I was put on this planet to love my family, make people laugh and play October baseball.”

Trey Yesavage electric, Blue Jays up 2-0 through two

LOS ANGELES - It's not really worth noting that Trey Yesavage is starting "just" his seventh major league game in these playoffs, anymore. Simply, the man is a crucial part of the Blue Jays rotation - and now he's in position to emerge as a bona fide World Series hero.

Yesavage powered through the first two innings of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, striking out four consecutive batters - Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman - to maintain Toronto's 2-0 lead.

Yesavage started Game 1 of this Series, pitching four innings in Toronto's eventual victory. But he looks like a different guy so far in Game 5, once again integrating his slider effectively with his fastball and notorious split-finger pitch. He won an eight-pitch battle with Freeman, getting him to flail at a full-count slider.

Vladimir Guerrero, Blue Jays ambush Blake Snell to lead off Game 5

LOS ANGELES - Three pitches, two home runs and World Series history made by the Toronto Blue Jays in a stunning start to a pivotal Game 5.

Leadoff man du jour Davis Schneider hit Blake Snell's first pitch into the left field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, and before he could snugly don Toronto's iconic home run jacket, franchise player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a 394-foot shot in the same neighborhood. Toronto 2, Los Angeles 0 before Snell could even settle in.

It was the first time in World Series history that a team led off a game with back-to-back home runs. And for Guerrero, it was second in as many nights and eighth of the postseason.

What is Blue Jays home run jacket?

Wonder exactly how and why the Blue Jays place a navy sports coat atop the shoulders of their home run hitter? Well, it's a tradition that started in 2021 and has lasted ever since, a tribute to the multi-cultural makeup of the club that continues today.

La Gente del Barrio – or, the folks in the neighborhood – was a message championed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and coach Hector Lebron beginning in 2021, with Lebron tapping a former teammate-turned-tailor to craft the jacket.

Dodgers lineup today

1. Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
2. Will Smith (R) C
3. Mookie Betts (R) SS
4. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
5. Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
6. Tommy Edman (S) 2B
7. Max Muncy (L) 3B
8. Enrique Hernández (R) CF
9. Alex Call (R) LF

Blue Jays lineup today

1. Davis Schneider (R) LF
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
3. Bo Bichette (R) DH
4. Alejandro Kirk (R) C
5. Daulton Varsho (L) CF
6. Ernie Clement (R) 3B
7. Addison Barger (L) RF
8. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) 2B
9. Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Dodgers vs Blue Jays predictions: World Series Game 5 picks

• Bob Nightengale: Dodgers 4, Blue Jays 3
• Gabe Lacques: Dodgers 4, Blue Jays 1
• Jesse Yomtov: Dodgers 7, Blue Jays 3
• Steve Gardner: Dodgers 7, Blue Jays 2
• Simulated Series: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 4

Toronto Blue Jays are a team of 'uncommon men'

LOS ANGELES — These Blue Jays can be historic. They’re already fully convinced they’re something special.

“I think this is a quote from Herb Brooks,” says third baseman Ernie Clement, citing the man who led the 1980 USA men’s hockey team to a stunning gold medal. “But we are a team of uncommon men. I think a normal team would have folded today.

“And we’re not normal. I think we’re the best team in baseball. We got out of bed with our hair on fire and ready to play.” — Gabe Lacques

Is George Springer playing tonight?

LOS ANGELES — George Springer once again ran out of hours in his quest to return in this World Series.

Springer was not in the Game 5 lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays, missing his second consecutive game after exiting Game 3 injuring his right side on a swing.

Missing Game 5 gives Springer’s malady two more days to heal. But he’s also running out of time.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before announcing the team's Game 5 lineup that Springer had made "significant progress" in the past 24 hours and indicated he could be available off the bench.

Who's pitching for the Dodgers tonight? Blake Snell stats

Dodgers Game 5 starter Blake Snell is in his first year with Los Angeles after signing a $182 million free agent contract. The left-hander took the loss in Game 1 of the World Series, giving up five earned runs in five innings.

• 2025 regular season: 5-4, 2.35 ERA in 11 starts
• 2025 postseason: 3-1, 2.42 ERA in four starts, 36 strikeouts in 26 innings, 0.85 WHIP

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stats

• 2025 postseason stats: .419 average (26-for-62), 7 HR, 14 RBIs, 1.306 OPS
• 2025 World Series stats: .368 (7-for 19), 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 1.004 OPS

World Series schedule 2025

• Game 1: Blue Jays 11, Dodgers 4
• Game 2: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
• Game 3: Dodgers 6, Blue Jays 5 (18 innings)
• Game 4: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 2
• Game 5: Oct. 29 in Los Angeles – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT
• Game 6: Oct. 31 in Toronto – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT
• Game 7: (if necessary): Nov. 1 in Toronto – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT

World Series winners by year

• 2024: Dodgers
• 2023: Rangers
• 2022: Astros
• 2021: Braves
• 2020: Dodgers
• 2019: Nationals
• 2018: Red Sox
• 2017: Astros
• 2016: Cubs
• 2015: Royals
• 2014: Giants
• 2013: Red Sox
• 2012: Giants
• 2011: Cardinals
• 2010: Giants

World Series Game 5 location

Game 5 of the 2025 World Series is at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Fall Classic heads back to Rogers Centre in Toronto with Game 6 on Friday and Game 7, if necessary, on Saturday.

World Series announcers 2025

• Joe Davis, play-by-play
• John Smoltz, color commentary
• Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci, dugout reporters

World Series umpires

Here’s how the umpires will line up for World Series Game 5 at Dodger Stadium:

• Home plate: Alan Porter
• First base: Jordan Baker
• Second base: Will Little
• Third base: Adrian Johnson
• Left field: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
• Right field: John Tumpane
• Reserve: Adam Hamari

World Series Game 3 end time

Game 3 of the World Series between the Los Angels Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays ended just before midnight Pacific Time (3 a.m. ET).

World Series tickets 2025

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Party like it's 1993? Blue Jays on brink of World Series title after silencing Dodgers

Reporting by Gabe Lacques, Jesse Yomtov and Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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