After a historic pitching performance from rookie Trey Yesavage in Game 5, and an offense that backed him up with six runs, the Toronto Blue Jays go into tonight’s Game 6 with a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Due up on the mound to start for the Jays is Kevin Gausman. The Dodgers will counter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Both pitched in Game 2, which the Jays ended up losing 5-1 and that saw Yamamoto pitch a complete game.
With a chance to win their first World Series title since 1993, what do the Jays have to do to try and best the ace tonight and avoid a Game 7? Experts and fans say things like defense and figuring out Yamamoto in their second go at him.
‘They’re firing on all cylinders right now’
Drew Fairservice, author of the Blue Jays’ Substack ‘Long Way From Sunlight,’ told CP24 that a Game 6 win is possible if they can “maintain their aggressive/selective approach” at the plate.
Fairservice said part of the team’s success this year has been how the Blue Jays “support their pitching with great defense.”
“They’ve really refined their mix in the bullpen, and then they just have these young guys, like (Addison) Barger and Yesavage, stepping up and filling a void,” Fairservice remarked.
He added that the organization has done a good job of fostering talent from the ground up, which is part of what’s made them so successful this year.
“You can’t always just throw money at every problem. You need to have those kind of internal, homegrown players. And that’s really a hallmark of a team that has got a really strong idea of what they want to do… They’re just firing on all cylinders right now.”
‘Need to play defense like they’ve played all series’
MLB columnist and former Blue Jays director of baseball media Richard Griffin spoke to CTV News Channel about what’s required of the Jays if they hope to win Game 6 and close out the World Series.
Griffin said he believes Game 6 is the “key,” because this Dodgers team has prior World Series experience.
“If this series goes to seven games, all bets are off, because the Dodgers have that game seven experience, they have that World Series experience,” Griffin explained. “I think Game 6 is the key, and pitching and defense are going to rule the day if the Jays are going to win.”
He added that Toronto will need to “play defense like they’ve played all series” and out-defend the Dodgers, alongside a “pitching performance to match.”
Griffin said if the Jays can only allow one or two runs and get a couple “unexpected” ones of their own off Yamamoto, they’ll be in good shape.
‘Playing with a lot of upside’
Hosts of the ‘Blue Jays Today’ podcast Nicholas Paleolog and Adam Peddle believe that if anyone can get a win against Yamamoto, “it’s this Blue Jays lineup.”
Speaking to CP24, Paleolog said he is “a little bit” nervous about facing the Japanese pitcher again after how the Jays got “put in his back pocket” in Game 2.
“I’m definitely a little nervous about how their at-bats are going to look against him,” he said. “I’m very thankful that it’s not going to be an elimination game, because that’s something that we were very worried about… So, it does feel like we’re playing with a lot of upside, because I do expect Yamamoto to be great, but if this lineup is capable of figuring him out, like they’ve been capable of doing with effectively every other pitcher in baseball this year, then there is that possibility of hoisting (the Commissioner’s Trophy).”
“So yes, I’m nervous. Yes, I think it’s going to be a tall task, but if anyone can get it done, it’s this Blue Jays lineup.”
‘Stick to their approach’
Sports journalist Joon Lee says the Jays squad needs to “lock in” and “figure out how to close things down” to defeat the Dodgers in the World Series.
He spoke to CP24 and said they will have a “tall task” ahead of them due to how good Yamamoto is on the mound and the recent experience the Dodgers have in the Fall Classic, having just won it last year.
Lee also added that Toronto can’t be too careful in thinking the Rogers Centre is going to give them an advantage.
“As much as it is an advantage to have the Rogers Centre behind you, to have that loud dome in an environment like this, it’s also pressure on the home team to close things out,” he said. “This is a young team that hasn’t ever been this far before… and that nerve really starts to kind of edge in on you, and it makes you do weird things that you might not do otherwise.”
Overall, Lee thinks the Blue Jays are in a position to win the World Series and need to “stick to their approach that they’ve had the entire season.”
“The Blue Jays, I think, have been a team that hasn’t necessarily relied on the home run in the way that a lot of modern baseball teams have,” he said. “They’ve been able to build their offense and have one of the best batting averages in all of the sport by taking the ball the other way and hitting singles and doubles and triples and not just swinging out of their shoes on every single pitch.”
“They need to make sure that they don’t play a different game just because they’re this close to taking it all.”
‘The Blue Jays have this magic potion’
Former Toronto Blue Jay and the lone Canadian World Series champion with the team, Rob Butler, believes the team will be better prepared to face Yamamoto in Game 6 because they’ve seen him once already this series.
Butler told CP24 it will give the Jays a “feel for the way he pitches” despite how “nasty and tough” he is on the mound.
While Butler acknowledges that it’s going to be tough, the “magic potion” the team has will aid them in their end goal.
“It’s going to be tough, but the Blue Jays have this magic potion,” he posited. “It’s like the baseball gods are just sprinkling magic potion all over them, and they’re able to overcome even him. So, I’m hoping that they keep doing the same things and playing flawless baseball, not making any mistakes and when things open up, they take advantage of that.”
Butler added that the Blue Jays’ baserunning has been “incredible” and that if they can continue playing “flawless D (defense)” and making pitches, then “something magical is going to happen, because it keeps happening.”
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