LOS ANGELES, CA — Whoever wins Game 5 in a best of seven series that is tied at two apiece after four usually ends up in the driver’s seat. In the 2025 World Series, it’s the Blue Jays holding that edge as the path to their third World Series championship in franchise history, the first since 1993, is now on their home turf of Toronto at the Rogers Centre–winning Game 5 in Los Angeles by a final score of 6-1 Wednesday night to go up 3-2.
Playing in front of their hometown fans will be a significant advantage for Games 6 and 7*, if necessary, which made Game 5 of the Fall Classic much more significant for the Dodgers than the Blue Jays in the grand scheme of it all.
One sign of confidence for Dodger Blue heading into Wednesday was one of their top arms in Blake Snell slotted as their starter for Game 5 with the game plan of having Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, preparing for their next outings, ready to go on the bump in Canada for Games 6 and 7*. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
The Dodgers, down 3-2 with an underperforming bullpen, will have to depend on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to go as far as they can in each of their outings for Game 6 and 7*, if necessary – Image Credit: George Napolitano and Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The big elephant in the room is still LA’s bullpen. What we saw in Game 4 on Tuesday night has been playing out all season long in Hollywood. What has saved games for the Dodgers has not been a lights out closer; it has been their lineup. And since the early stages of an endless 18-inning long Game 3, their offense as a whole seems like they have holes in their bats. Manager Dave Roberts made a change to the usual lineup for Game 5 in the hope that it will change things for the better—moving Will Smith to the two spot, Mookie Betts third, Freddie Freeman fourth and rookie Alex Call in the nine hole, replacing Andy Pages, Havana, Cuba, four hits with a .215 OPS this postseason across 50 at-bats.
But before the Dodger lineup change could even try to make a difference; they were already behind 2-0 in the first inning when the 849th pick in the 2017 MLB draft, Davis Schneider, hit Snell’s first pitch 373-feet into the left field pavilion of Dodger Stadium. Then, on the third pitch of the game, the 2021 American League LatinoMVP, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., hit a 373-foot home run into the Dodger bullpen.
Smashing his eighth home run of this postseason, Guerrero Jr. tied Ohtani (8 HRs) for the second-most ever in a single postseason, which the Japanese left-handed slugger has marked in the 2025 postseason as well—both trailing Randy Arozarena who had an iconic 2020 postseason run with the Tampa Bay Rays, clocking 10 HRs.
The Blue Jays’ Game 5 starter, Trey Yesavage, a 22-year-old rookie, who was pitching for the University of East Carolina last year, displayed an elite arsenal of which appeared as if he has been in the Major Leagues for years. He struck out five batters in a row after retiring the first two he faced, until Kiké Hernández, San Juan, Puerto Rico, hit a 407-foot home run to left field, making it a 2-1 game after three innings.
As the game went on, Yesavage got more locked in. To the point where he became only the second MLB pitcher to ever have 10 strikeouts in the first five innings of a World Series game. Sandy Koufax, in attendance for Game 5, held that record alone for the past 62 years, doing it in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series at Yankee Stadium, the only year the Dodgers clinched a World Series at home in a four-game sweep of the Yankees.
Snell would leave the game with a line of 6.2 innings pitched, six hits, five runs, all earned, four walks, seven strikeouts, and two home runs. He threw 116 pitches, 69 for strikes, which was followed by LA’s bullpen allowing two of Snell’s runs to score. Not a surprise from LA’s relievers, getting exposed more and more as October baseball continues.
But the big story in Game 5 was Yesavage, dominating the Dodgers, leaving with an outstanding line of seven innings pitched, three hits, one run, zero walks, 12 strikeouts, and one home run. He threw 104 pitches, 71 for strikes, and set a rookie record for the most-ever strikeouts in a World Series game.
A historic Game 5 pitching gem by the rookie right-hander from Boyertown, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
“Yeah, it’s a crazy world. Crazy world,” Yesavage said. “Hollywood couldn’t have made it this good. So just being a part of this, I’m just very blessed.”
“Historic stuff,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider added. “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.”
The Dodgers struck out a total of 14 times and had only fours hits while the Blue Jays were fanned seven times and compiled nine hits.
It’s difficult to come out with a win with those numbers, especially with a bullpen not doing its part, however Los Angeles will have to rebound Friday night with the best of seven series heading up north and the Blue Jays on the cusp of winning the 2025 World Series.
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