TORONTO — In their two previous World Series championship triumphs in 1992 and 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays won a dramatic Game 6 each time.
They have a chance to repeat history Friday night by clinching the World Series title against the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6.
Toronto needed 11 innings in Game 6 to defeat the Atlanta Braves in 1992. The next year, it took Joe Carter’s three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to take Game 6 and vanquish the Philadelphia Phillies.
Toronto is 5-2 all-time in Game 6 scenarios. But older Blue Jays fans will remember 1985, when the Blue Jays lost Games 6 and 7 at home to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.
The Dodgers will need a repeat performance from right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 1.57 ERA) to have a chance to force Game 7.
He allowed one run and four hits in a complete-game victory in Game 2 in which he retired his final 20 batters.
“Yes, it did give me a certain level of confidence,” Yamamoto said on Wednesday. “But now my mind is reset and then just focusing on the new game.”
The Dodgers have struggled scoring runs all postseason, particularly in the World Series where they have batted .201 and have been outscored 29-18. They have relied on strong starting pitching in the postseason that has not always been there in the World Series. An undependable bullpen has compounded matters, and so has some sloppy fielding.
“I think right now, we’ve got to find a way to win one game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Thursday. “They just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it.”
Yamamoto’s opponent again will be right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-2, 2.55), who also pitched well in Game 2, allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Gausman looks forward to the assignment.
“Rogers Centre is going to be fun. It’s going to be electric,” he said. “It’s going to be everything that it has been for the last month and probably more. … The fans there have been awesome, especially lately. They bring the energy, they pick us up when we need it.”
“It should be a fun rematch,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “I think Kev’s outing kind of got overlooked because Yamamoto was so good in Game 2. Kev kind of matched him pitch for pitch there until the seventh.”
They will have trouble matching the electric performance of Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage, who struck out 12 in allowing one run and three hits over seven innings in Game 5.
George Springer has missed the past two games with a side issue but could return to Toronto’s lineup on Friday. He nearly played in Game 5, according to his manager.
“He was right on the fence,” Schneider said. “I think he probably could have. I was really juggling what’s best for him, what’s best for the team, not just immediately to start the game, but kind of how that game may unfold too. … He was close, and he was ready to come in. I’m glad we didn’t need him and got him an extra couple days, but hopefully he’s good to go (Friday).”
The defending champion Dodgers have been in these situations before. Last year, they escaped elimination in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres by taking Games 4 and 5 en route to the title.
“I think elimination games, which we’ve had a lot of experience with, are all mindset,” Roberts said. “It’s fight or flight, it’s whatever adage or saying you want to kind of come, leave it all out there.”
–Larry Millson, Field Level Media
