Trey Yesavage was dealing the game of his life Wednesday night.
The Blue Jays finally pulled their young ace after seven innings of dominant pitching, but not before he etched his name in World Series history with a performance that had the Rogers Centre on its feet.
Yesavage finished with 12 strikeouts through seven innings, breaking a World Series record for pitchers 22 or younger. The previous mark belonged to Smoky Joe Wood, who struck out 11 in a complete game back in 1912.
Manager John Schneider sent Yesavage back out for the seventh inning after he’d already racked up 11 strikeouts through six. A crucial double play helped the right-hander escape that frame, and that’s when Toronto decided they’d seen enough.
The dugout erupted as Yesavage made his way back, teammates embracing him after what might’ve been the best postseason start by a pitcher this young in over a century.
Pitch Count Concerns
The decision to pull Yesavage made sense from multiple angles. He’d thrown 104 pitches by the time Schneider made the call, well above his recent workload. His high pitch count this postseason had been just 87 before Wednesday, and he threw 94 in his final regular season start.
There’s also the timing factor. Toronto’s offense put up multiple runs in the top of the seventh, forcing a couple pitching changes that created a lengthy delay between innings. Those extended breaks can make it tough for a pitcher to stay loose and maintain his rhythm.
The Blue Jays weren’t taking any chances with their phenom, especially with the series hanging in the balance.
Yesavage gave up an infield hit in the seventh but worked out of trouble with that double play. That was enough for Schneider, who turned to his bullpen to try and close out a 3-2 series lead heading back to Toronto.
It’s the kind of performance that’ll be remembered regardless of how the series ends. At 22, Yesavage just proved he belongs on baseball’s biggest stage.
