The Toronto Blue Jays moved within a victory of ending the Dodgers' quest for their first back-to-back World Series championships with a 6-1 win in Game 5 Wednesday evening at Dodger Stadium.
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Toronto took a three games to two lead in the best-of-seven series after becoming the first team to begin a World Series game with back-to-back home runs and right-hander Trey Yesavage setting a rookie World Series record with 12 strikeouts and limiting the Dodgers to three hits over seven innings .
Game 6 will be played Friday in Toronto. Game 7, if necessary, would be Saturday in Toronto.
Teams winning Game 5 of a Series that had been tied at two games a piece in the best-of-seven format went on to win the Series 31 of 46 times, 67.4%.
Davis Schneider hit the first pitch from Blake Snell (3-2) 373 feet over the left field fence. Two pitches later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a four- seam fastball from Snell 394 feet over the left field fence.
The previous rookie World Series strikeout record was 11 set by Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series against the New York Yankees.
Yesavage retired the first seven batters he faced, striking out the last five, then allowed a solo home run to Kiké Hernández with one out in the third.
The other hits against Yesavage were infield singles by Teoscar Hernández in the fourth and seventh innings.
Toronto had runners on first and third with one out in the seventh after a leadoff single by Addison Barger, a wild pitch by Snell, a walk to Andrés Giménez and wild pitch while Schneider was batting.
Snell completed his strikeout of Schneider two pitches later for the second out, then was relieved by Edgardo Henriquez after throwing 116 pitches, his most in a game since 2022.
Henriquez walked Guerrero on a full count, with ball four going off the mitt of Will Smith, the Dodger catcher, to the backstop for a wild pitch, allowing Barger to score.
Bo Bichette followed with a single, driving in Giménez, increasing the Blue Jays' lead to 5-1.
Toronto added a run in the eighth. Ernie Clement led off with a single against Anthony Banda, who had relieved Henriquez after he walked Alejandro Kirk after Bichette's single. Clement went to second on Banda's wild pitch, third on Barger's ground out and scored on Isiah Kiner-Falefa's single.
Snell allowed five runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking four in front of a sell-out crowd announced at 52,175.
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