The Fall Classic is nearing its finale, whether that's Friday night or (if necessary), the night of Saturday, Nov. 1. Now, with the statistics hugely favoring the Toronto Blue Jays versus the Los Angeles Dodgers--with a 3-2 lead in the 7-game series, some might wonder if considering another result is worth doing. Stick with me here--when there are still innings left to play, it's not the time to begin a postmortem on the season.
The reality is that the Dodgers could break the 25-year drought of a team garnering back-to-back World Series championships in just about 48 hours. Here are my five reasons that could happen:
1. Going from High-A ball to starting a World Series game in the same season like Wednesday night's Trey Yesavage for Toronto doesn't happen in modern baseball. Amazingly, he debuted in the majors 45 days before his World Series start. You have to stretch back to the 1940s (and much further) to find the last few players to do it. Coming up against a pitcher who makes literal HISTORY on his first bow as a pitcher on the biggest stage in the world is not easy to overcome, even if your name is the L.A. Dodgers.
The Blue Jays’ rookie sensation struck out 12 over seven innings in World Series Game 5 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, setting the all-time rookie record for strikeouts in a Fall Classic game once held by Don Newcombe of the 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers (11).
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He also became just the second pitcher in World Series history with 10 or more strikeouts through the first five innings, joining the Dodgers’ very own Sandy Koufax, who did it in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series. Yesavage is also the first pitcher in MLB history to do that twice within the same postseason.
My colleague Jerry Wilson shared a preview of these final days of the major league baseball postseason in an exciting return of his sports report this week.
READ: RedState Sports Report: The World Series Is Blue, While Baseball Prepares to Sing the Blues
Just as an aside, you might be wondering which teams have pulled off winning back-to-back Fall Classics--something that has happen 14 times since 1903. Gotcha covered, reader:
There have been several repeat champions in MLB history, but it's been over two decades since the last one.
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The Yankees won three straight World Series titles from 1998-2000, standing as the most recent team to win consecutive championships.
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The longest championship streak belongs to the Yankees, who won five straight World Series from 1949-53. The Yankees also own the second-longest World Series title streak, winning four straight from 1936-39.
Interesting enough, the Blue Jays have also done it--twice--in 1992-93. And my beloved Cincinnati Reds have, of course, won two, 1975-76.
2. Coming back from 3-2 deficit in the World Series has been done before in the 120 editions of the Fall Classic--23 times.
In World Series history, 23 teams have fallen 3-2 behind and still gone on to win the title. This happened twice in an eight-game series, with the other 21 occasions coming in best-of-seven series that were decided by a team completing their comeback with a Game 7 win.
And the name of the team to do it the most often will warm my colleagues' Becky Noble's and Susie Moore's hearts: The St. Louis Cardinals--accomplishing the awesome feat five times in their storied history as a franchise. (Find the full list here.)
3. and 4. One of the best to do it, former Atlanta Braves ace pitcher John Smoltz said in a recent interview that he believes there are two reasons ways the Dodgers can fight back and be victorious despite long odds. His expertise, I think, earns him two entries here. (Host Dan Patrick's relevant question begins at 8:13 in the video below, but the full video is worth watching.)
First, Smoltz told Patrick that one key is maintaining a "one game at a time" mentality -- and you could do worse than Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bump for a high-pressure situation like Game 6....[H]is track record of clutch moments extends far beyond this fall. Yamamoto was a postseason ace in Japan first, and that ability needed no translation in the big leagues.
“He’s pitched in huge ballgames in Japan,” manager Dave Roberts said recently. “He’s pitched in the WBC. Players that have the weight of a country on their shoulders – that’s pressure.”
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Yamamoto also played a role in helping Samurai Japan win the World Baseball Classic in 2023, on a roster that included now-Dodgers teammates Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki.
And don't discount how much trust the team leadership--and his teammates--put on him to pitch out of the bullpen in that marathon, 18-inning game.
Back to Smoltz. He also said they have done it before, winning a slew of crucial games when it's mattered. They put away a stellar offensive juggernaut Milwaukee Brewers team in recent weeks in the NLCS, you might recall.
In a bonus answer, Smoltz mentioned the sheer amount of importance for pitchers to prep for their outing the following game--by having laser-like focus on the batters' habits and stats at the plate.
Of course, with his metaphorical hitter's cap on during Game 3, even a two-way, phenom guy like Ohtani was unable to do that. As Smoltz rightly says, like the elite player he is, he was watching the pitchers instead. On top of that, he had to be bone-tired from how late the game went. Normally, Ohtani has said, he gets close to 12 hours of sleep a night.
SEE: Why Shohei Ohtani Reaching MLB's 40/40 Club Should Matter to Everyone
5. You could argue that the Dodgers won 2 games in their last win against the Jays -- as it ran 18 innings. But putting that aside, the odds are in the Dodgers' favor on this final stat: They have not clinched the WS pennant at home since 1963. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays had the home-field advantage for the series. So, for the boys in blue, it would be the next-best thing to raise the Commissioner's Trophy at Rogers Centre.
On a personal note, my mom's favorite player on the LA team is Freddie Freeman ("He's so cute!"). What the heck... While I am a Diamondbacks (and Reds) fan, this night, I'll yell, "Go Dodgers!"
