The Toronto Blue Jays are one win away from the World Series championship. The American League side took down the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 in Game 5 and took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday.
Following a daunting 18-inning loss in Game 3, the Blue Jays mustered another comeback on Tuesday. A 6-2 win in Game 4 saw them tie the series and wipe out the momentum of the hosts, which they carried from their victory on Monday.
On Wednesday, the visitors came out flying against Blake Snell in the first inning. Davis Schneider, who was batting 1st in place of George Springer, started the proceedings with a home run on the very first pitch of the game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then joined in on the fun. The ALCS MVP hit his 8th home run of this postseason just 2 pitches later. With just 3 pitches, the Blue Jays had taken a 2-0 lead with two solo home runs.
Enrique Hernandez would cut the deficit in half through a solo home run in the 3rd inning and put his team on the board. The Blue Jays regained their 2-run lead through a sacrifice fly from Ernie Clement in the top of the 4th inning.
While Snell struggled to contain the opposition lineup, rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage dominated the mound. The 22-year-old threw 7 strong innings and picked up 12 strikeouts, the most by a rookie player in a World Series game, and gave up just one run.
The Blue Jays scored twice in the 7th and once in the 8th inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead. Once again, the Dodgers' offensive lineup struggled and managed to put up just 4 hits through the 9 innings. This saw them concede Game 5 and put the Blue Jays one step closer to winning it all.
Following a day break, the series will now return to Toronto for a potential clincher in Game 6. A win on Friday will seal the Blue Jays' first World Series triumph since 1993.
The Los Angeles Dodgers got outclassed once again by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. The hosts had the worst possible start to the game, conceding 2 home runs in just 3 pitches, and were unable to recover from that early blow.
MLB fans on social media would lose it with the Blue Jays winning Game 5 of the World Series. Many celebrated their triumph, while some took a shot at the Dodgers for dropping the game. One fan wrote, 'Disband this entire team,' while taking a swipe at the National League Champions.
Check out some of reactions from X below:
The Dodgers will now turn towards Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 6. The Japanese pitcher has gone the distance and thrown complete games in both of his previous starts. The reigning champions will need another dominant performance from him on Friday and some runs first if they are to force Game 7 and keep their chances of going back-to-back alive.
With the series tied at 2-2, Game 5 was a massive one for both teams. The Toronto Blue Jays emerged as the winners and took a giant step towards the title. Ahead of Game 6, history is on their side.
As per stats, in any best-of-seven series tied at 2-2, the winners of Game 5 have gone on to win the series 46 out of 68 times (67.6%). In the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning Game 5 on the road and then returning home for Games 6 and 7 have won the series 20 out of 27 times (74.1%).
The Blue Jays also have a good history with Game 6 of the World Series. In both of their triumphs in 1992 and 1993, the Toronto-based side emerged as winners of Game 6 to clinch the championship. Friday could be the day when the Commissioner's Trophy heads back north of the American border after 32 years.
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