Yesavage Shuts Out Yankees, Sets Strikeout Record in ALDS Game 2

A young pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, Trey Yesavage, had a memorable start to his postseason career, achieving both a no-hitter and a new team record on Sunday. Yesavage pitched 5 ⅓ innings without allowing a hit against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Division Series (GameTracker), striking out 11 batters in the process. This strikeout performance established a new high mark for a Blue Jays pitcher in a playoff game.

In fact, Yesavage equaled the previous record (eight) early in the fourth inning. He then struck out the subsequent batter, claiming the record outright, and then struck out another to extend his lead. The Blue Jays franchise had previously seen four games with eight strikeouts. The most recent instances were 10 years prior, when David Price recorded eight strikeouts in each of two American League Championship Series starts against the Kansas City Royals:

“I feel like I’m on top of the world. I couldn’t imagine a better feeling right now,” Yesavage expressed after the game. “… I was thinking about the statement I made the other day, where I said I’m ready for this. So, I felt like I needed to deliver. I just wanted to go out there and give it my all. Thankfully it went as planned.”

Yesavage, who is 22 years old, participated in only three major-league games during the regular season. He achieved an ERA of 3.21 (136 ERA+) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.29 over 14 innings. Notably, none of those starts were against the Yankees, or any other potential opponent in this postseason.

It is worth mentioning that Yesavage’s Game 2 performance marked the first occasion in franchise history where a pitcher aged 23 or younger recorded more than five strikeouts in a playoff game.

“His pitching was impressive,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone commented after the game. “That split is rare to encounter. He found his rhythm, utilizing it frequently, breaking it down off the plate, and mixing in his fastball and slider adequately. We simply couldn’t find a solution for the split. He was at his best.”

CBS Sports ranked Yesavage as the Blue Jays’ top prospect entering the spring. Here’s our assessment at that time:

The Blue Jays selected Yesavage with the 20th pick in the previous summer’s draft, following a successful career at East Carolina University where he quickly returned to play after experiencing a partially collapsed lung. His style is centered on vertical movement: starting with his high release point and extending to a range of pitches that includes a rising fastball, a sharp curve, and a split-change. Yesavage has not yet played professionally, but he should advance rapidly once he begins.

The Blue Jays secured a 13-7 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.