Blue Jays Rookie Trey Yesavage Makes Unique World Series History By Starting Game 1

Trey Yesavage’s first introduction the bright lights of the postseason occurred way back on Oct. 5 when his array of splitters kept the Yankees hitless for 78 pitches and 5 1/3 innings, resulting in 11 strikeouts during a rout in Game 2 that made the Blue Jays a strong possibility to advance.

Now after throwing the splitter 32 % of the time and getting 23 swings and misses with the pitch, Yesavage is being introduced to even bigger stage as the pitcher who will open the third World Series in team history for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are back there for the first time since 1992 and 1993 when they opened with Jack Morris against the Braves and Juan Guzman against the Phillies.

To put into context how unique someone with so few major league innings pitching in the World Series, his 15 innings are one more than his three regular season starts in September and his 235 pitches are four fewer than those starts.

The Blue Jays won each of those games, beating Tampa Bay twice and Kansas City and those starts were critical since a loss would have meant Yesavage or whoever was starting Game 2 of the ALDS would be doing so at Yankee Stadium, assuming the Blue Jays got past the Red Sox in the wild-card round.

Instead those performances helped secure the AL East, homefield advantage throughout the postseason and Yesavage’s first pitch to Shohei Ohtani in front of the rabid Toronto fans on Friday.

“I’ve been able to go through this and handle it as diligently as possible,” Yesavage told reporters Thursday at World Series media day. “With this being my rookie season and having these high-pressure games, I try to treat it as if it’s not as high pressure as it is mentally, but I know it’s there, so I think I’ve just developed it over time.”

In another scenario of the Yankees being able to get past Toronto, Cam Schlittler could have been tapped for the World Series opener. Like Yesavage he has the short but impressive track record, notably 11 strikeouts in eight innings in the wild-card series against Boston after 73 innings covering 14 starts during the regular season.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Yesavage is the second player to start World Series game that will give him more postseason starts than career regular-season outings.

The previous distinction belongs to Joe Black in 1952. Black started Game 1 for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field and pitched a six-hitter while allowing a homer to Gil McDougald and a sacrifice fly to Hank Bauer in a 4-2 win.

He also started Game 4 in Yankee Stadium and allowed a homer to Johnny Mize amongst three hits in seven innings of a 2-0 loss. In Brooklyn’s 4-2 loss during Game 7 of the 1952 World Series, Black lasted 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs, exiting after giving up a homer to Mickey Mantle and a single to Johnny Mize.

He made those starts after making two starts in the final weeks of the regular season but unlike Yesavage was not constantly on the move. Black made the first of his 54 relief appearances on May 1, 1952.

On May 1 of this year, Yesavage was five starts into his stopover in Dunedin. By May 20 he was pitching for Vancouver and by June 12, he was debuting for New Hampshire, the same team John Schneider managed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in 2018. His stay in Double-A lasted for about two months and following a month with Buffalo, he was in the majors as the Blue Jays attempted to fend off the Yankees.

“It’s really special,” Yesavage said. “I’ve got guys from Dunedin to Vancouver, New Hampshire, Buffalo that are in my text texting me, congratulating me. But it’s just a testament of how together this whole entire organization is, even in different parts of the country. This organization is run very well and everybody’s awesome here.”

In between the stops, Yesavage has done well enough to be on the massive World Series stage and talking about facing Shohei Ohtani while having an entire county supporting him in the continuation of a special season for the Blue Jays.