LOS ANGELES — The Toronto Blue Jays, the team that was always the bridesmaid in the free-agent market, where players didn’t want to play, north of the border, suddenly is one step away from being the epicenter of the baseball universe.
The Blue Jays are just one victory away from winning their first World Series in 32 years after pounding the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1, behind the surreal outing of 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage.
Yesavage, who opened the season pitching for Class A Dunedin in front of a crowd of 327 people, struck out 12 batters and gave up just three hits and one run in seven electrifying innings.
The brilliant performance has the Blue Jays up 3 games to 2 with the World Series heading to Toronto with Game 6 scheduled Friday at the Rogers Centre, where a frenzied country awaits.
When the Blue Jays show up for work Friday, they may have a statue erected of Yesavage, who delivered one of the the greatest World Series performances by a pitcher under the age of 23 in history.
Yesavage, who has made more starts this postseason (5) than regular-season starts, completely suffocated the Dodgers’ lineup. He struck out 12 batters, the most by a pitcher 23 or younger in World Series history, and became the first rookie pitcher to produce two starts of at least 10 strikeouts in a single postseason.
It’s hard to believe he was pitching for Dunedin on April 6, Class A Vancouver on May 20, Class AA New Hampshire on June 12, Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 11. He didn’t make his major league debut until Sept. 15.
Now, here he was this night, a pitcher so young he’ll still be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award next season, and earning $36 million less than Dodgers starter Blake Snell, putting on a legendary pitching performance that will forever be remembered in Blue Jays’ history.
Certainly, the Dodgers won’t forget it, either, as they packed up their suitcases for a long flight to Toronto, wondering what in the world happened to their offense.
This is a team that has been averaging just 3.75 runs a game this postseason since the wild-card series, batting .220, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shaking up his lineup to break out of its doldrums.
Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman even vowed Wednesday afternoon that they would quit swinging out of their shoes and just start making contact.
“We need to string some hits together,” Freeman said. “Just get some hits, get guys on, work the counts, get guys on, move ’em first to third, get ’em in. Kind of like what we did in the second inning [Tuesday]. We just need to continue that over and over and over again. You’ve got to put pressure on them. If we’re going up there just trying to hit home runs, it’s just not the name of the game.”
Nothing worked Wednesday.
The Dodgers wound up with just four hits, striking out 14 times, and have scored only four runs in their last 29 innings.
The Blue Jays scored two runs on the first three pitches of the game with leadoff hitter Davis Schneider swinging at Snell’s first pitch, a 96-mph fastball, and sending it 373 feet into the left-field seats.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. waited for a second pitch, and then hit Snell’s 96-mph fastball into the left-field pavilion, too, 394 feet away.
It was the first time in World Series history that the first two batters homered in a game.
Snell settled down, and threw 116 pitches over 6⅔ innings, but the damage was done.
“This team is talented, they’re resilient,’’ Roberts said, praising the Blue Jays. “You see these guys grinding and using the whole field.’’
The Dodgers have a 5½-hour flight and an off-day to figure it out.
For the Blue Jays, they’ve got an entire country ready to throw a party that will carry them right through hockey season.
“Rogers Centre is going to be fun,’’ said Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, the scheduled Game 6 starter. “It’s going to be electric. It’s going to be everything that it has been for the last month and probably more. We’re excited to get back there. Obviously, we’re really good at home, so we feel confident playing in front of our own team. The fans there have been awesome, especially lately. They bring the energy, they pick us up when we need it.
“So yeah, obviously, coming here was the goal to get back to Toronto.’’
They have done that, and more.
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