Davis Schneider clobbered the first pitch of the night, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered two pitches later, and the Toronto Blue Jays thumped the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
With the win, the Blue Jays took two of three games in Los Angeles to snatch a 3-2 series lead as the Fall Classic shifts back to Toronto.
Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage delivered the best start of his young career, spinning seven masterful innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts against the defending champs.
Kike Hernandez’s third-inning solo shot wasn’t enough to keep up with the Jays, who tagged Dodgers southpaw Blake Snell for five runs across 6.2 innings.
History finally appears to be leaning Toronto’s way, with the Jays just one win away from capturing their first World Series title since 1993. In the current 2-3-2 format, teams taking a 3-2 lead by winning Game 5 on the road — before returning home for Games 6 and 7 — have gone on to win the series 20 of 27 times (74%), according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
For a chance to clinch the title, the Jays hand the ball to right-hander Kevin Gausman (3.59 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), who allowed three runs in 6.2 innings in Toronto’s Game 2 loss. With their season on the line, the Dodgers turn to Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP), riding the momentum of back-to-back complete games.
First pitch for Game 6 is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday. Los Angeles enters as a -133 road favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Toronto sits as a +110 underdog. The total is set at 7.5 runs.
