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This afternoon, the Blue Jays hosted the Yankees in Game #2 of their division series.
For the occasion, rookie Trey Yesavage was sent to the mound to try and give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead in the series, which is a 2-of-3.
And let's just say it went more than well. In his first three innings, for example, he conceded a free pass to Aaron Judge, but otherwise nobody got on base. And Yesavage had seven Ks after three innings. #Wow
Meanwhile, Ernie Clement's two-run home run gave his pitcher a run for his money.
NOW WE GO! #WANTITALL pic.twitter.com/dX73vIH8Vq
– Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 5, 2025
You could feel that Max Fried, who wasn't in an ideal position, wanted to win. His fastball was gaining a bit of velocity… but that didn't stop the Blue Jays from sending traffic to the paths.
Davis Schneider got on base with a walk in the third, was pushed to third base by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and ended up scoring on a pop-up by Alejandro Kirk.
Then Daulton Varsho (with his second double of the game) drove in Vladdy to make it 4-0 in the third inning. Ernie Clement made it 5-0 right after that, which put the Rogers Centre in a bit of a mood. Just a little.
Meanwhile, Trey Yesavage continued to destroy the Yankees. After four innings, he had no less than 10 strikeouts, which is completely insane – and a franchise record.
https://twitter.com/pikkitsports/status/1974944722545426751
Obviously, the surprise effect (and the absence of Trajekt, a tool available at home only to see a pitcher's tendencies, for the Yankees) comes into play, but the guy is… really strong. No one can take that away from him.
A young guy who's just as ready for the playoffs… makes you think of Ivan Demidov in Montreal in terms of hype?
Cam Schlittler opened New York's eyes this week (and rightly so), but Yesavage just reminded us that he's not the only quality young player to watch in the playoffs.
In fact, 10 strikeouts in four playoff innings is a playoff all-time record. Patrick Corbin did the same in 2019.
https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1974944526885433404
While Yesavage became the fifth pitcher aged 22 or under in history to have at least 10 strikeouts or more in a game, Max Fried left in the top of the fourth inning. That put pressure on the reliever.
And it resulted in this, from Vladimir. Yes, the guy hates the Yankees!
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1974948703208440290
Daulton Varsho made it 11-0 with another home run (in the fourth inning, the Blue Jays had pretty much already won the game) and George Springer added to it by making it 12-0.
This took the pressure off Yesavage.
The Blue Jays removed him after 5.1 innings (and 78 pitches) without a run or a hit, a question of managing his workload in 2025 in general. With rest tomorrow and the score, it wasn't a bad decision on the Blue Jays' part with the rookie, who has never pitched so much in a season.
A star is born.
This content was created with the help of AI.
