The Blue Jays are on the verge of their first World Series title since 1993 after winning Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
Trey Yesavage struck out every batter at least once on the way to 12 strikeouts in seven innings and the scene of Shohei Ohtani flailing at a pitch while his helmet fell off and his left knee was hovering over the dirt seemed to encapsulate how things unfolded for the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday.
Because of things like Ohtani’s flail in the third inning of Game 5, the Blue Jays are one win away from a World Series title with two chances at home to win once after Yesavage set a record with the most strikeouts by a rookie in a World Series game, eclipsing Don Newcombe’s 11 strikeouts in 1949 for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Yankees
The three games to two lead is coveted since 67 percent of the teams who achieve it eventually win the World Series. The most recent is the Houston Astros in 2022, who were blanked in Game 3 in Philadelphia, evened the series with Cristian Javier’s second combined no-hitter the following night and won their second title in six games.
The Astros’ situation is similar to what the Blue Jays are facing on Friday just without the insanely compelling 18-inning loss. The Dodgers seemingly were well-positioned with Ohtani and Blake Snell the next two nights, but an aging offense went a combined 10-for-61 in games started by Max Scherzer and Yesavage.
Being in this situation with three wins through five and going home with a chance to secure a title is not necessarily guaranteed though the Blue Jays did it in 1993.
Since Joe Carter’s homer off Mitch Williams ended the final Fall Classic of the two division era, teams with a 3-2 lead and returning home encountered mixed results.
