NEW YORK – Trey Yesavage was never going to pitch in Game 4 of the American League Division Series last fall, but his job that fateful night was to sell the possibility that he might. So, after manager John Schneider floated the idea during his pre-game media availability, the rookie righty walked from the third-base dugout to the visitors’ bullpen in left-centre field, trying to make sure the New York Yankees noticed.
“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,” he 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.”
As things turned out, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t need him anyway during a well-executed bullpen day that clinched the series, but they certainly did Wednesday night after a pair of dispiriting losses in the Bronx. Finally making his Yankee Stadium debut, no subterfuge this time, Yesavage did not disappoint, shaking off a two-hour 11-minute rain delay to outduel fellow phenom Cam Schlittler with six shutout innings in a 2-1 victory.
Just as he was in the post-season, Yesavage was simply dominant, pinning the game under his thumb from his first pitch to his last, allowing only two hits, one on a Trent Grisham blooper to left that dropped in between Kazuma Okamoto and Yohendrick Pinango after they both pulled up looking at one another.
No matter, Yesavage cleaned up that mess while striking out eight, including Aaron Judge three times. His fastball sat at 95.2, up 1.3 m.p.h. from his season average, he got five of his 13 whiffs with his slider and was never once in a hint of trouble.
“They came out a little more aggressive than I thought, but he was landing his slider in the zone and the fastball was spotted well,” said Schneider. “When he's got 95, 96 at times, you've got to defend against that and when you're locating it, you've really got to defend against that. There was some good sequencing and really good location.”
Schlittler, dominating to this point with his three fastballs moving in different directions, had to dodge far more traffic and for the most part did, stranding runners in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings before the Blue Jays finally managed to eke out some offence in the seventh.
Ernie Clement singled and Jesus Sanchez walked to open the frame before Brandon Valenzuela dropped a perfect bunt that both Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells tried to pick up and dropped, leaving the bases loaded.
Andres Gimenez then fouled off five pitches between 97.3 and 99.3 m.p.h. before working an 11-pitch walk that opened the scoring and ended Schlittler’s night. Jake Bird came in and limited further damage to a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly to the wall in right but the Blue Jays made the lead hold, even if there was some adventure in getting there.
“Valenzuela told me, even before the at-bat, ‘If I've got men on first and second, I'm going to bunt for you.’ That's the fundamentals of the game. I like the way he's thinking,” said Gimenez. “Obviously he gave me the chance, and then I gave the chance to George (Springer). That's what we're trying to do offensively, just have good at-bats together, looking for the next guy up.”
Mason Fluharty took over in the bottom of the seventh and watched a one-out Jazz Chisholm Jr. blooper fall in beyond a charging Gimenez as Daulton Varsho looked on, and then saw Goldschmidt’s flare to right drop in front of a diving Sanchez, who had to leave the game.
“Just landed weird, got the wind knocked out of him,” said Schneider. “See how he is (Thursday).”
Jeff Hoffman came in to kill that rally, getting Amed Rosario to fly out and Ryan McMahon on a dribbler in front of the plate. After Tyler Rogers worked a clean eighth, Louis Varland had to work around a Cody Bellinger double and a Chisholm single, on a chopper that he bobbled, with one out, allowing Goldschmidt’s RBI groundout before striking out Rosario to end it.
The Blue Jays (22-27) won for the third time this season when scoring just two runs and have a chance to earn a series split Thursday, when Braydon Fisher opens ahead of Spencer Miles against Carlos Rodon.
“That's Blue Jays baseball, just grinding there in the top of the seventh, manufacturing some runs,” said Yesavage. “Wasn't pretty, but got it done.”
Not without Yesavage’s effort, and he was at his peak after two outings where he felt like he grinded. The extra velocity helped, but so too did the slider he’s worked hard to find consistency with and displayed fully in this one.
For both him and Schlittler, late-season promotions a year ago ahead of impressive performances in the post-season, there’s still a lot of learning happening, with Yesavage only in his previous outings pushing his regular-season innings total past his post-season count of 27.2 innings.
In that way, he’s tested for the grandest of stages, but not the grind of every-fifth-day in the regular season.
“He checked the hardest box, getting guys out in the playoffs,” said teammate Max Scherzer. “We all strive to try and do that and he checked that box. He knows what he can do. He knows how to pitch guys, understands his game and how he can go at people and what makes him successful. Now it's the start-in, start-out, the consistency factor. That's the next thing in his career he's got to demonstrate. He just did the hard part first.”
Regular-season Yesavage was just as good against the Yankees as playoff Yesavage on Wednesday, when he walked out to the bullpen as the rain ebbed and not just for show this time.
He’d sat in the bullpen before “in college, first round of a playoff or whatever, I would just be down there an absolute emergency guy and I didn't actually end up going in, but nothing fake.”
In getting the best of Schlittler at a timely moment for the Blue Jays, Yesavage once again was very, very real.
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