One. Win. Away.
As the 2025 World Series heads back to Canada for Friday’s Game 6, the Toronto Blue Jays need just one more victory to win the Fall Classic.
Behind back-to-back home runs by Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to lead off the game — the first time that has happened in World Series history — and a masterful pitching performance by record-setting rookie Trey Yesavage, they drubbed the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.
Here’s how the Blue Jays’ victory went down, with our in-game analysis and postgame takeaways.
Key links: World Series schedule, results
Takeaways
Blue Jays lead series 3-2
It was over when …: At some point in the early innings, any notion that the Dodgers’ lineup tweaks or the fact that they had previously gotten a look at Trey Yesavage would lead to an L.A. breakout were quashed. It’s hard to pinpoint just when that became abundantly obvious, so let’s go with the bottom of the fifth, when Yesavage whiffed Alex Call for his 10th strikeout of the game, making him the first to ring up 10 whiffs in five frames in a World Series start since Sandy Koufax in 1963. Koufax, watching from the stands, was likely not thrilled to see his feat matched.
Game 5 star: Yeah, it’s Yesavage, and with each transcendent outing, he’s putting to bed any critiques that his soaring success is due to a weird release point or the lack of familiarity big league hitters have with him. He leaned on his sweeper/splitter combo more in Game 5 than at any point since arriving in the majors and commanded them both. When he’s doing that, he can dominate anyone.
The stat that defined the game: Yesavage became the first rookie in World Series history to post a 12-strikeout game. He became the first pitcher with a 12-strikeout game in the World Series since the New York Yankees‘ Orlando Hernández in 2000. And he became the first pitcher — ever — with 12 strikeouts and no walks in a World Series game, according to ESPN Research.
What it means for the Dodgers: Forget about losing the chance to win on their home field, the Dodgers are on the brink of extending MLB’s repeat-champion drought. Now down 3-2, they will traipse across North America, where in rainy, cold Toronto they will find a revved-up fan base that will have the Rogers Centre quaking. On the plus side, they won’t have to see Yesavage again, at least not in a starting role.
What it means for the Blue Jays: One more win, and 32 years of waiting will be over. The Jays have their ace, Kevin Gausman, lined up and an offense that continues to roll behind him. But Game 6 looms even larger because the Dodgers might be able to line up Shohei Ohtani to come on behind Tyler Glasnow in a possible Game 7. Toronto is almost there, but plenty of work lies just ahead. — Bradford Doolittle
