Masterpiece on the Mound

David J. Phillip/AP

By Holly C. Bridges

The Toronto Blue Jays are one win away from winning the World Series after taking a 3–2 series lead with Wednesday night’s dismantling of the Dodgers. It was mastery on the mound as Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage threw a remarkable 12 strikeouts—the most ever by a rookie in the World Series—and allowed no walks in his seven innings facing the Dodgers in Game 5.

Toronto was great defensively, holding Los Angeles to just one trip around the bases in an errorless game for both sides in a 6–1 victory. The masterful pitching by the Blue Jays in Game 5 resulted in L.A.’s superstar Shohei Ohtani going 0-for-4. Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman, son of San Diego Padres legend Trevor Hoffman, made his Game 5 debut Wednesday night in the bottom of the ninth to put away the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ starting pitcher, former Padres player Blake Snell, picked up the loss.

The Blue Jays and Dodgers will now pack their bags for a trip back to Toronto for Game 6, where each team split the first two games in front of an extremely loud Rogers Centre crowd. Toronto seeks its first World Series championship since 1993, and it will be do-or-die for the Dodgers as they fight to force a Game 7 and go for back-to-back World Series titles. Game 6 will be Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Pacific.

Game 7, if the Dodgers win, would be Saturday.

• One other San Diego tie: pitching coordinator for the Dodgers organization Don Alexander was a pitching coach at San Diego Mesa College in the late ’80s to early ’90s before moving up to the big leagues.