How the Los Angeles Dodgers reached the World Series for the third time in six years
USA TODAY Sports’ Gabe Lux explains how the Dodgers dominated the Brewers en route to a World Series appearance.
sports pulse
- Trey Yesavage won Game 6 of the ALCS, making his sixth career MLB start.
- The 22-year-old right-hander is a first-round pick in 2024.
- Yesavage has received rave reviews from veteran teammates Max Scherzer and Kevin Gausman.
TORONTO — Julio Rodriguez received the No. 4 ball in the Seattle Mariners’ dugout, threw down his bat, clapped twice and encouraged his teammates. Indeed, in the third inning of Game 6 of this American League Championship Series, he was facing a two-run hole, but Cal Lowry, the likely AL MVP, came to the plate and the bases were loaded.
It was certain that the score would be overturned with one swing from the man who hit 64 home runs throughout the playoffs. A dangling splitter, a misplaced fastball or a cement-mixer slider from the 22-year-old rookie, who started in Class AAA a month ago, could put the Mariners on track for their first World Series appearance.
But the Toronto Blue Jays had something completely different in mind. Trey Yesavage, who has started all six games in the major leagues, is no ordinary rookie.
“When he gets the ball, we all believe in him,” future Hall of Fame right-hander Max Scherzer, 41, told USA TODAY Sports.
And Yesavage threw just one split-finger fastball to MVP, and Lowry hit a 160 mph worm burner to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., starting what was essentially a gorgeous 3-6-1 double play that ended with Yesavage blindly finding the bag with his right foot.
It ended the threat and started an almost ridiculous sequence of three double-play grounders in three innings, leading the Blue Jays to a 6-2 victory, tying the series at 3-3 and setting the stage for one of the most uplifting joys in sports.
In Game 7, the winner went on to the World Series, while the loser spent a winter full of regrets.
So far, that loser isn’t the Blue Jays, who survived a disastrous Game 5 loss to keep the season alive.
Congratulations to Guerrero and Addison Berger’s home runs, Berger’s three RBIs, and closer Jeff Hoffman’s two near-perfect innings of relief.
But know this. The Blue Jays came close to winning their first World Series since 1993 thanks to the player they drafted 20th overall just over a year ago. He started the year in the lowest Class A, climbed the ladder to Toronto in September, faced his biggest demon in October and earned the trust of the veteran clubhouse, and in Game 6, the trust of Canada’s entire baseball-watching population.
But how?
“He has a quiet confidence,” Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman said. “He jokingly said he pitched in a lot of big games before (turning pro), and it’s funny that he thinks they were super big games. But he really looked back on those games and how he handled it with bigger crowds.”
“He’s not afraid of anyone. Maybe he’s a little young and naive, but he’s just going to go after the guy.”
That was the only way to avoid the trouble that befell him in Game 6.
The one-out play came back in the inning following Lowry’s double play, and Seattle loaded the bases again with a single walk. Now let’s talk about going right towards them. Yesavage jumped ahead of JP Crawford with two quick strikes, the splitter returned, and Crawford hit a one-hopper grounder to Isaiah Kinner-Falefa, who hooked it and threw to second base, already pointing to the air before shortstop Andres Jimenez turned.
“His splitter is next level,” Scherzer says. “He makes the best hitters in the game look stupid. He throws so big that it gets him out of a lot of dangerous situations.”
Want one more? In the fifth inning, Dominic Canzone singled and Leo Rivas struck out on a split, but the lineup turned upside down. Yesavage’s pitch numbers were in the 70s, and he suffered from slow velocity in his first playoff start against the Yankees (historic) and Game 2 against the Mariners (terrible).
Additionally, Rodriguez hit a three-run homer off Jesavage in Game 2.
So, what was your mental state at that time, John Schneider?
“I can’t say it’s great,” the Blue Jays manager said.
No need to worry. Rodriguez swung his first fastball, and it was Jimenez’s turn to start, with the 6-4-3 DP holding the emotional edge and momentum in the third-base dugout.
From the Blue Jays’ perspective, this is no small thing in the ALCS, where they have lost, lost, won, won, lost, won. Lower-ranked players may feel dizzy from such a whirlwind.
After three spectacular double plays, the Blue Jays’ dugout went wild, and the 2-0 lead quickly became a 4-0 advantage when Ernie Clement’s two-out triple preceded Berger’s two-run laser into the right-field seats.
“That’s what it’s all about. It’s a very strong game,” said Clement, who had two more hits to give him eight hits in the series. “As you can see from the last few games, players with momentum ride the momentum and play until the end.
“For (Yesavage) to make a pitch like that in that situation shows a lot of poise and maturity.”
He set the tone by pitching 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, striking out seven, and giving up six consecutive batters, and was able to avoid a pinch in the middle of the inning.
And with each run, the 44,764 fans packed into Rogers Center roared, and with each inning the tension of the night eased.
It’s a far cry from the East Carolina where Yesavage was pitching a year ago. He wasn’t trying to block out the noise.
“It wasn’t something I really had to deal with,” he says. “It was a way to use that to my advantage.”
It’s a way to deal with stress, and since the Blue Jays brought him back in September, he’s hoping his far more veteran teammates can tap into this ability and hone their October weapon from a player who has moved up to A, AA and AAA ball in just a few months.
“What strikes you right away when you meet him is that he’s very calm, very level-headed,” Hoffman says. “He has a great presence and the fact that he maintains that in a big game like this is a really good sign and really great for the Blue Jays going forward.
“You can see the makeup, and he has what it takes. And he’s got great guys around him that will help him in any way they can to help us move forward.”
Yesavage’s work for this year is finally over. While the entire Blue Jays pitching staff expects to be available for Game 7, Yesavage is simply able to watch and learn, marveling at this incredible opportunity to earn a championship ring after less than a month in the major leagues.
At the same time, it is thanks to him that they are still alive.
“I’m very proud of him. He’s 22 years old, he’s young, he’s got a hungry spirit, and you can see that he’s doing everything he can to win the game,” Guerrero said.
