TORONTO — If the Blue Jays were going to start their first World Series in 32 years on the right foot, the overriding feeling was that they were going to require another gem from budding ace Trey Yesavage to tame this beast of a Dodgers offense.
Judging by the first inning, it appeared that was going to be the case. Yesavage began the game with a strikeout of all-world talent Shohei Ohtani, with the rookie right-hander’s swinging strike three on his nasty signature splitter down in the zone nearly blowing the roof off Rogers Centre, where a raucous max-capacity crowd stood on the verge of eruption well before first pitch.
“It’s my goal to go out there and strike out everybody I face,” said Yesavage, who is ranked as Toronto’s No. 1 prospect. “So, being able to start off the game on a hot note was definitely a boost in my confidence. It was cool. It was really cool.”
Yesavage managed to dance in and out of danger across four innings enough to keep the Blue Jays within striking distance before their potent offense exploded for a nine-run sixth en route to an 11-4 victory over Los Angeles in Game 1.
On one hand, Yesavage – who at 22 years and 88 days old became the second-youngest Game 1 starting pitcher in World Series history, older than only Ralph Branca (21 years, 267 days in 1947) – demonstrated tremendous fortitude in his ability to limit the Dodgers to two runs. This was despite facing a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the second inning and two-on, one-out spot in the third, dialing up big strikeouts and groundouts in key moments.
“We did pretty good to kind of get to him,” Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts said. “But we’ve got to cash in more than that, especially against a team that’s swinging it really well. I feel like that was a big point in the game that really changed things.”
On the flip side, a repeat lack of quality stuff his next time out – which could be a potential Game 5 at Dodger Stadium – could spell disaster against this lineup.
So, what needs to change for Yesavage before taking the mound again?
First off, he needs to regain his splitter, which he seemingly abandoned after that first inning. When he did throw it, it was hovering up in the zone as an ineffective offering.
Over his prior three postseason starts, Yesavage generated a chase rate of 30% or higher on his splitter in each outing. Opponents were just 3-for-24 (.125) with 14 strikeouts against that splitter this postseason.
On Friday, that chase rate on Yesavage’s splitter shrank down to 22.4%.
“I didn’t have as much of a feel for it as I have in previous starts,” Yesavage said. “And it also was a pretty split-to-righty lineup, so I went with the slider a little bit more.”
There also may have been some understandable nerves. After all, Yesavage – making just his seventh career start, period – began this season at Single-A Dunedin before advancing three more levels and eventually making his way to Toronto in September.
“I don’t know,” Yesavage said when asked how far away Dunedin felt on Friday. “Playing in front of 250 fans instead of whatever it was tonight is a little bit different.”
So, while his next start may come on the road, at least he got those World Series butterflies out of the way, leaving an opportunity for him to pick up his offense like it did for him this time out.
“It was an insane experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Yesavage said. “I wish personally I could have done a little bit better, but that’s why this is a team sport, and we have nine other guys on the field.”
