Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage holds down Dodgers for 4 innings in historic World Series start

TORONTO (AP) — Standout rookie starter Trey Yesavage didn't have his best stuff but limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs over four innings for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night. Toronto rallied for an 11-4 win.

The 22-year-old Yesavage was making just his seventh major league appearance. He became the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series opener behind Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca, who was 21 years, 267 days old for Game 1 in 1947 at Yankee Stadium.

“It was an insane experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Yesavage said. “I wish personally I could have done a little bit better, but that’s why this is a team sport, and we have nine other guys on the field.”

Yesavage's best pitch during a breakout postseason has been his splitter, but he used it sparingly against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers.

"He wasn’t as sharp as we wanted him to be, but he did a good job," Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk said through an interpreter.

Just 10 of Yesavage's 80 pitchers were splitters, and he instead leaned on his slider while allowing five hits, striking out five and walking three. His fastball velocity was down nearly 1 mph from his usual average.

“Didn’t have as much of a feel for it as I have in previous starts,” Yesavage said of the splitter, adding that with five righties in Los Angeles' lineup, he thought the slider would be more effective.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his team tried to lay off Yesavage's splitter.

"He lives and dies by that split, certainly versus left," Roberts said. "We really tried to stay stubborn in the hitting zone."

Left-hander Mason Fluharty replaced Yesavage to begin the fifth with Ohtani and the top of the Dodgers' order due up.

It was Yesavage's fourth postseason start after just three regular-season outings. A first-round draft pick in 2024 who made his major league debut at Tampa Bay on Sept. 15, he became only the second pitcher to make a World Series start that raised his postseason start total above his regular-season career total, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Yesavage opened the game by striking out Ohtani, then retired Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on grounders.

The right-hander walked the leadoff batters in the second and third innings, leading to two runs. Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single in the second, one of three straight singles, but Yesavage escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Andy Pages and getting Ohtani to ground out.

“The way he settled down in that inning, I think for sure that won us the game,” Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw said. “That was big time, obviously, against Shohei. Everyone in the world knows how that could end up. He did a really good job of just settling down and getting that ground out.”

Will Smith made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the third, but Freeman got caught in a rundown on Smith’s hit. Smith advanced to third on Teoscar Hernández’s grounder before Yesavage struck out Max Muncy to end the inning, the first of three straight swinging strikeouts for Yesavage.

Selected 20th overall in last year’s amateur draft from East Carolina University, Yesavage is the youngest player in this year’s World Series. He began the season at Class A Dunedin, was promoted to High-A Vancouver on May 20, then Double-A New Hampshire on June 12 and Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 12.

Yesavage went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three starts in September, striking out 16 in 14 innings. He beat the Yankees with 5 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings in Game 2 of the Division Series as he struck out 11, a franchise postseason record. He lost Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against Seattle when he allowed five runs in four innings, then won Game 6 on Sunday when he gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Yesavage has challenged hitters with an unusual arm angle. His 69% release angle is highest among right-handers in the postseason — 90% is over the top and zero is sidearm.

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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) looks on after giving up a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during third inning Game 1 World Series playoff MLB baseball action in Toronto on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) reacts on the mound during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage delivers against the Los Angeles Dodgers during first inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's Republican-led senate voted against a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party in the 2026 elections, despite months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting.

Twenty-one senators from the Republican supermajority and all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats voted down the redistricting proposal. Trump has urged GOP-led states to gerrymander their U.S. house districts ahead of the midterms to create more winnable seats for Republicans. It's an unusual move, since the district boundaries are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 year.

Ahead of the vote, Trump again criticized Indiana senators who resisted the plan, repeating his vow to back primary challengers against them.

“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media. Some Indiana lawmakers have also received violent threats during the debate over the last month. Half of the state Senate is up for reelection in 2026.

Democratic state senators spoke against the redistricting legislation one by one during Thursday's session.

“Competition is healthy my friends,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura. “Any political party on earth that cannot run and win based on the merits of its ideas is unworthy of governing.”

Outside the state Senate chamber, redistricting opponents chanted “Vote no!” and “Fair maps!” while holding signs with slogans like “Losers cheat.”

The proposed map was designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would effectively erase Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis into four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would also eliminate the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.

Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana’s Senate was uncertain. A dozen of the 50 state senators had not publicly committed to a stance ahead of the vote.

Republican Sen. Greg Goode, previously undecided, signaled his displeasure with the redistricting plan. In firmly delivered remarks, he said some of his constituents objected to seeing their county split up or paired with Indianapolis. He expressed “love” for Trump but criticized what he called “over-the-top pressure” from inside and outside the state.

Sen. Michael Young, another Republican, said the stakes in Congress justify redistricting, as Democrats are only a few seats away from flipping control of the U.S. House in 2026. “I know this election is going to be very close,” he said.

Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill, the redistricting legislation's sponsor, showed Senators maps of congressional districts around the country, including several focused on Democratic-held seats in New England and Illinois. He argued other states gerrymander and Indiana Republicans should play by the same rules.

Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.

Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina quickly enacted new GOP-favorable maps, while California voters approved a new congressional map favorable to Democrats in response to Texas. In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, saying Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.

The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they might vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.

Among them was state Rep. Ed Clere, who said state troopers responded to a hoax message claiming a pipe bomb outside his home Wednesday evening. Indiana state police said “numerous others” received threats but wouldn't offer details about an ongoing investigation.

In an interview, Clere said these threats were the inevitable result of Trump’s pressure campaign and a “winner-take-all mentality.”

“Words have consequences,” Clere said.

The White House has mounted an aggressive lobbying push. Vice President JD Vance met twice with Indiana Senate GOP leaders, including the full caucus in October, and senators also visited him in Washington.

Trump joined a conference call with senators on Oct. 17 to make his own 15-minute pitch. State Sen. Andy Zay said White House political aides stayed in frequent contact for more than a month, even after he backed the bill, urging him to publicly support it and track developments among colleagues as part of a “full-court press.”

Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan. Associated Press writer Tom Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

Nancy Kohn, of Indianapolis, hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Protestors hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)