The Toronto Blue Jays will turn to rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage to start Game 1 of the World Series, manager John Schneider told reporters at Rogers Centre in Toronto during Thursday’s media availability.
Blake Snell starts on the mound in Game 1 for the Dodgers, having allowed two runs in 21 innings with 28 strikeouts in his three postseason starts thus far this season.
Friday night will be the seventh major league start for Yesavage, the first-round pick of the Blue Jays just last year out of East Carolina who began his 2025 season in Class-A Dunedin. The 22-year-old right-hander made three starts in September for Toronto, with a 3.21 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and seven walks in 14 innings.
In the postseason, Yesavage has won two of his three starts with 22 strikeouts (a 36-percent strikeout rate) in 15 innings with a 4.20 ERA. He didn’t allow a hit with 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings against the Yankees in the American League Division Series. He lost Game 2 of the ALCS against the Mariners, but won Game 6 with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed in 5 2/3 innings.
All three starts this postseason for Yesavage have come at Rogers Centre, where he’ll be on the mound on Friday for Game 1 of the World Series.
“You’re going to face a guy that no one’s every faced before in their young rookie,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said Wednesday of Yesavage. “Facing a guy with that kind of release point and stuff you haven’t faced is always, always difficult.”
Schneider said Thursday he’d likely name his Game 2 starter later today, and that Kevin Gausman is under consideration to start either in Game 2 or Game 3. Gausman started Games 1 and 5 of the ALCS for Toronto, with the latter coming last Friday in Seattle. Gausman also pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief in Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday.
In four postseason appearances this year, the veteran Gausman has a 2.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts and nine walks in 18 innings.
