How do you beat a starting rotation that is having one of the best postseasons in baseball history?
That approach has paid big dividends for the Jays, who have a 3-2 World Series lead over the defending champions as Toronto prepares for Game 6 at Rogers Centre on Friday night with the opportunity to clinch its first World Series title in 32 years.
The latest example of early-count aggression came courtesy of Davis Schneider in Game 5. Schneider, who was batting leadoff for Toronto in place of an injured George Springer, smashed the first pitch of the game from Snell over the wall in left field to give the Blue Jays an instant lead.
The next batter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., belted the second pitch he saw from Snell for another homer to left, making him and Schneider the first players in World Series history to hit back-to-back homers to open the game.
“That was the approach going in,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “To be ready to hit. … I think those two swings from Schneid and from Vlad — you know, first at-bat of a game is always a little bit different. There’s a lot of guys that swing at the first pitch. So we wanted to be aggressive on balls that were in the middle of the zone. Vlad was a little different, a little bit in, but that’s been our strategy against really good pitchers. There’s a time to grind ’em and there’s a time to be ready to hit.”
Overall, the Blue Jays have dramatically increased the frequency of their swings early in the count from the regular season, and it has been key to a run that has them one win from the pinnacle of the baseball world.
Here’s a look at how the Jays have jumped on opposing pitchers early, along with how it has translated to success in the playoffs — particularly in the World Series — and how it might factor into the rest of the Series:
During the regular season, the Blue Jays swung at the first pitch in a plate appearance 32 percent of the time, which ranked 14th in the Majors. This postseason, that figure is 37.6%, tied with the Mariners for highest percentage of first-pitch swings among playoff teams.
When expanded to a sample of the first two pitches in a plate appearance, the Jays have swung 44.7% of the time to lead all postseason teams.
Frequency of swings on first pitch of a plate appearance, 2025 Blue Jays
Regular season: 32% (14th)
Postseason: 37.6% (T-1st)
In the regular season, Toronto batted .311 and slugged .539 in one-pitch at-bats — ranking 26th and 25th, respectively, in MLB. In the playoffs, the Jays lead all teams in that category, batting .440 and slugging .879 on the first pitch.
Within the first two pitches of an AB? The Jays rank third among this year’s postseason clubs with a .379 batting average and first with a .673 slugging percentage.
In the World Series, the Blue Jays are batting .467 and slugging .800 on the first pitch against the Dodgers. Within the first two pitches, Toronto is hitting .366 and slugging .606.
By contrast, the Dodgers are batting .190 and slugging .381 on the first pitch during the World Series, while batting .239 with a .370 slugging percentage within the first two pitches.
Production on first pitch of an AB, 2025 Blue Jays
Regular season batting average: .311 (26th)
Regular season slugging percentage: .539 (25th)
Postseason BA: .440 (1st)
Postseason SLG: .879 (1st)
World Series BA: .467
World Series SLG: .800
Since 2008, when the pitch-tracking era began, 17 teams other than Toronto have played in the World Series. And not one of them produced more hits on the first pitch than this year’s Blue Jays, who have 14 of them in the Fall Classic.
Only one team — the 2013 Red Sox — had a higher batting average on the first pitch than Toronto’s .467, and a higher slugging percentage than Toronto’s .800 (those Red Sox hit .556 and slugged .944 on the first pitch).
Only the 2022 Astros (41.4%) swung at the first pitch more often in the World Series in the pitch-tracking era than the Jays (37.4%).
Nine of the Blue Jays’ 14 first-pitch hits in the World Series have come from four players: Alejandro Kirk (three, including a three-run homer off Glasnow in Game 3), Daulton Varsho (two, including a two-run shot off Snell in Game 1), Nathan Lukes (two) and Addison Barger (two).
Eight of Toronto’s 14 first-pitch hits came on fastballs, three were on changeups, two were on sliders and one was on a curveball.
Most hits on first pitch of AB in a World Series (since 2008)
1. 2025 Blue Jays: 14
2-T. 2021 Astros: 12
2-T. 2011 Rangers: 12
4. 2017 Astros: 11
5-T. 2019 Astros: 10
5-T. 2023 D-backs: 10
5-T. 2013 Red Sox: 10
Yamamoto stands in Toronto’s path to its first World Series championship since 1993.
As the Blue Jays look to continue their early-count aggression in Game 6, it will be a tall order against the right-hander, who had the fifth-lowest batting average against (.246) on the first pitch during the regular season among starting pitchers (minimum 50 at-bats resulting in a first-pitch ball in play).
The first time the Jays faced Yamamoto in the World Series, he threw a complete game and they mustered only four hits against him — though two of them were on the first pitch.
“He’s unique because he’s got what seems like six or seven pitches, and can kind of morph into different pitchers as the game kind of goes on,” John Schneider said on Thursday. “You’ve got to be stubborn, you have to be ready to hit, and you have to be stubborn with what kind of swings you’re taking. That’s what it comes down to.
“He’s not a guy you can kind of wait out. He’s going to pound the zone, so sometimes you’ve got to force some action on him if he’s going really well. I think having seen him will help us.”
The Blue Jays’ other Schneider, the one who jumped on the first pitch of Game 5 and sent it into the left-field seats, is hoping for more early offense in Game 6.
“Hopefully we can do that against Yamamoto on Friday,” Davis Schneider said. “But take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time, and go from there.”
