LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers head to Toronto facing a daunting task, needing two wins in two road games to stay alive, after falling 6-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium to a Blue Jays team that has outplayed them thus far in the World Series.
Trey Yesavage brought the hammer in Game 5, riding a dominant slider and splitter to 12 strikeouts in seven innings, allowing only one run.
“We are always a team that gets starters 70 to 90 pitches by the fourth,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said
before Game 5. ”We got to do that again and just build innings, keep putting pressure on ’em, and not have quick 1-2-3 innings.”
Yesavage didn’t get to 90 pitches until the seventh inning, allowing only three hits, one of them a solo home run by Kiké Hernández, who made his first start in center field since September 7. Yesavage had four 1-2-3 innings.
The rookie right-hander broke Smokey Joe Wood’s record for the 1912 Red Sox for most strikeouts in a World Series game by a pitcher 22 or younger.
The Dodgers in Game 1 chased Yesavage after 80 pitches through four innings and scored twice against him, but also left four on base, including not adding on from a bases-loaded, no-out situation last Friday.
“At-bat quality is not just pitches. It’s hitting mistakes,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think that the first time through the at-bat quality was good as far as kind of gathering information. But I think in total, two times through the order, there were a lot of pitches that we missed.”
The Dodgers swung and missed 23 times against Yesavage, with 21 of those coming on his 75 combined sliders and splitters. He also didn’t walk anybody, giving him the most strikeouts in a World Series game with no walks.
11+ strikeouts, 0 walks in World Series
- Trey Yesavage (2025 Game 5): 7 innings, 12 strikeouts
- Don Newcombe (1949 Game 1): 8 innings, 11 strikeouts
- Clayton Kershaw (2017 Game 1): 7 innings, 11 strikeouts
Poor fastball command doomed Blake Snell in his Game 1 loss, and establishing the pitch has been the talk the last few days heading into his Game 5 start. Problem was, Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each homered on inside fastballs within Snell’s first three pitches, putting the Dodgers behind before many Dodger Stadium seats were even warm.
Schneider and Guerrero are the first pair of batters to start a World Series game with home runs.
Potential double play balls in the middle infield turned into only one out thanks to a molasses-slow turn in the first and a poor throw by Mookie Betts in the third inning, rushed even though a slowed Bo Bichette was the trail runner. Those weren’t cashed in, but an ill-advised dive by Teoscar Hernández in right field turned a double into a triple to lead off the fourth was, adding a free run thanks to a sacrifice fly.
Déjà vu
After the two home runs, Snell was mostly solid, getting through 6 2/3 innings in his final start of the year. He walked four but struck out seven. He left trailing by two in a similar situation to Shohei Ohtani in Game 4, with two runners on. This time there was only one out to get, instead of three.
Edgardo Henriquez was first in the relief saddle on Wednesday, and walked Guerrero with a wild pitch on the final ball that allowed one inherited run to score, then allowed a single to Bichette to bring home the other inherited runner. Henriquez did not retire any of his three batters.
Two nights in a row the Dodgers tried to stretch out a starting pitcher because their bullpen has been terrible, only to see said starter struggle at a point of fatigue. Then when the bullpen finally came in, they did poorly. A real vicious cycle.
With a fully-functioning offense and a competent bullpen, getting consecutive six-inning starts with two and three runs allowed, respectively are both winnable games. But the Dodgers have neither right now, which is a problem.
The Dodgers have averaged 3.54 runs per game after the wild card round, and scored three or fewer runs six times in their last 11 games. They’ve scored four runs in their last 27 innings.
Now their backs are firmly against the wall, with two days and a long flight to try to find that offense.
World Series Game 5 particulars
Home runs: Kiké Hernández (1); Davis Schneider (1), Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (8)
WP — Trey Yesavage (3-1): 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 12 strikeouts
LP — Blake Snell (3-2): 6 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 7 strikouts
Up next
The MLB season reaches its final destination with everyone headed to Toronto for Game 6 on Friday (5:10-ish p.m. PT, Fox). Yoshinobu Yamamoto will try to keep the Dodgers alive, while Kevin Gausman is pitching for the Blue Jays.
