Yesavage outduels – Trey Yesavage delivered six shutout innings, striking out eight including Aaron Judge three times, as the Toronto Blue Jays fended off the New York Yankees in a 2-1 win after a two-hour, 11-minute rain delay. Cam Schlittler lasted until a seventh-inning rally,
NEW YORK — Trey Yesavage didn’t have to pitch in Game 4 of the American League Division Series last fall. but his assignment that night was still real: convince the Yankees that the rookie right-hander could be the one. Manager John Schneider floated the idea to him during pre-game media availability. and Yesavage walked from the third-base dugout to the visitors’ bullpen in left-centre field. moving with just enough deliberateness to sell the moment.
“I needed to make sure I kept a straight face and was, like, serious, because all I wanted to do is just laugh at what was going on,” Yesavage recalled this week. “I was definitely taking my time. It was a slower walk. I don’t know, it was so weird for me to be doing that.”
Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, there was no subterfuge. Finally making his Yankee Stadium debut, Yesavage put the Yankees in the position they didn’t need to be in: chasing a lead that never seemed to be in danger.
After a two-hour 11-minute rain delay. the Blue Jays delivered a steady. disciplined bullpen performance and a starter who looked fully in control. Yesavage outdueled fellow phenom Cam Schlittler with six shutout innings in a 2-1 victory. shaking off the long stoppage by pitching from his first pitch to his last without once showing a hint of trouble.
He allowed only two hits—one of them coming on a Trent Grisham blooper to left that fell in between Kazuma Okamoto and Yohendrick Pinango after both pulled up looking at one another. It was a moment that could have flipped a game, but it didn’t. Yesavage cleaned it up immediately and finished with eight strikeouts.
The most eye-catching strikeout total belonged to Aaron Judge, who went down three times. Yesavage’s fastball sat at 95.2, up 1.3 mph from his season average. Five of his 13 swinging strikes came from his slider, and the command stayed crisp even as the innings stacked up.
Schlittler, who had been dominating to that point with his three fastballs moving in different directions, had to navigate far more traffic than usual. The Blue Jays stranded runners in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings before they finally made something stick in the seventh.
Ernie Clement singled to open the frame, and Jesus Sanchez walked. Then Brandon Valenzuela dropped a perfect bunt that both Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells tried to pick up and ended up dropping, leaving the bases loaded.
Andres Gimenez fouled off five pitches between 97.3 and 99.3 mph before working an 11-pitch walk to open the scoring and end Schlittler’s night. Jake Bird came in and limited further damage, allowing only a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly to the wall in right as the Blue Jays kept their lead.
The rest of the game still had plenty of sharp edges.
Mason Fluharty took over in the top of the seventh and saw a one-out Jazz Chisholm Jr. blooper fall in beyond a charging Gimenez, with Daulton Varsho looking on. Then Goldschmidt’s flare to right dropped in front of a diving Sanchez, who had to leave the game. Jeff Hoffman was called on to shut things down further. getting Amed Rosario to fly out and Ryan McMahon to ground out in front of the plate.
Tyler Rogers worked a clean eighth. Louis Varland entered the ninth needing to finish the job after a Cody Bellinger double and a Chisholm single. On a chopper that Varland bobbled with one out. Goldschmidt scored on an RBI groundout. and Varland had to absorb the run and reset. He ended it by striking out Rosario.
By the time the final out came, the story was clear: Yesavage’s control erased the danger, and Toronto’s late scoring—built on patience, precision bunting, and pressure—held long enough for the Blue Jays to fend off the Yankees in a 2-1 win.
Trey Yesavage Cam Schlittler Toronto Blue Jays New York Yankees ALDS rain delay Aaron Judge MLB Mason Fluharty Louis Varland
Rain delay and somehow he’s just locked in? Pitchers always get weird like that.
Wait Aaron Judge got struck out 3 times?? Like that’s actually crazy. But I thought the Yankees were supposed to be good at home so idk.
Schlittler lasted til the 7th?? Doesn’t say how many runs in the rally though so I’m guessing it was just one of those blooper games. Also rain delays always mess with pitchers, so props I guess, but I swear they always say “control” and then it turns into a bullpen mess.
I’m confused, was this like last fall too or Wednesday? The article keeps jumping around. Also why is “straight face” a big deal like that’s the real headline… I feel like the Yankees didn’t score because of the delay not because of him, idk.