00:00The Toronto Blue Jays, they're one game away from snatching the crown off the Dodgers' head.
00:04We all saw Game 5 rookie, Trey Yosavage, went full Savage mode.
00:09And my man stole the show from Shohei Ohtani and gang.
00:11So let's talk some world-class pitching with the pitching ninja, MLB analyst Rob Freeman.
00:17Rob, you get your rest last night, man.
00:19We all stayed up past our bedtime because what we saw was historic.
00:23How you feeling, man?
00:24I'm feeling great.
00:26I flew in from L.A., just got back yesterday, watched the game at home yesterday.
00:31I was in L.A. for that long 18-inning game.
00:34But, yeah, it was a blast watching Trey Yosavage last night.
00:37All right, let's get into that historic night because that's the most strikeouts by a rookie.
00:42You've watched and you've covered this kid for a while now.
00:45So break it down to us in layman's terms.
00:49What exactly did we watch last night?
00:52What made the rookie so great?
00:53So one thing that jumped out at me, I interviewed him at the MLB Combine in 2024.
00:59So this was him like in college.
01:02And he jumped out at me as being just incredibly poised.
01:06And you could just tell, natural leadership.
01:08And you knew no moment was going to be big to him.
01:10And no moment was going to be too big for him.
01:13And it wasn't last night.
01:15I mean, dude just came through absolutely raining down splitters.
01:20He has that really high release point.
01:21Hitters have a hard time picking it up.
01:24And between a splitter and slider, he was untouchable.
01:28When we were coming into the World Series, all the storylines were about how the Dodgers had the more dominant starting pitching rotation.
01:37Does it surprise you that the Blue Jays rotation is kind of showing up the LAs?
01:42It surprises me a little bit because, yes, I think the Dodgers rotation on paper is maybe the best postseason rotation ever because strikeouts matter a lot in the postseason.
01:56And they have the top three strikeouts per nine inning guys in Major League history with over 100 starts.
02:02But the Blue Jays are showing him up, led by the young gun, Trey Yusavage, 22 years old, doing that on the big stage.
02:10But he has those vets around him.
02:13You know, you have Max Scherzer, Kevin Gosman, Shane Bieber, all helping him adjust.
02:19And, like, it's a great situation for a young guy like that to be in.
02:23The Blue Jays back-to-back wins after that 18-inning loss.
02:28And they won two out of three in L.A.
02:31And after that 18 innings, they've outscored the Dodgers, I believe, 12-3.
02:36How is this team able to kind of bounce back like that after a letdown in Game 3?
02:43They have such a tough lineup.
02:45I mean, they make contact really well.
02:47They don't strike out that much.
02:50You know, even against the Dodgers pitching, they're able to battle.
02:54And I think that's been the difference.
02:55The Dodgers bats weren't that great in the 18-inning game, too.
02:58Remember, neither team was scoring.
03:00But the Blue Jays made an adjustment.
03:03The Dodgers still seem to be swinging underwater a little bit.
03:07You know, for them, they're going to have to wake up if they're going to come back in this.
03:10Talk about waking up.
03:11But Shohei Ohtani got on base nine times in that 18-inning game.
03:18Now he's been 0-7 since.
03:20You think Shohei is going to show up in these one or two games if he can, if they can extend this thing?
03:27You know, with Shohei, he loves the big moments.
03:31It wouldn't surprise me to see him bounce back.
03:34It wouldn't surprise me at all because he's a great hitter and he loves the big stage.
03:38And he always seems to take it up a notch when he needs to.
03:41So, yeah, I would expect him to bounce back.
03:45But, you know, sometimes getting walked a bunch, he didn't swing a bat for 10 innings in that game
03:52because they kept walking him.
03:53And I think sometimes it gets in your head.
03:55It throws you off.
03:56So, kudos to the Blue Jays for developing a strategy to maybe throw Shohei off a little bit.
04:01All right, game six, elimination game.
04:04The Jays have two games to close it out and become the World Series champs.
04:08But as you know, to be the best, you've got to beat the best.
04:10You've got to take one of these games.
04:12So, do you think L.A. can come back in this one or is this one pretty much over?
04:17They definitely can come back.
04:19So, with their pitching, I mean, you have their ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, going.
04:23You know, I don't think anybody wants to face him.
04:27And he's been in big moments.
04:28He's come through before.
04:30He's just a world-class pitcher and an artist on the mound.
04:34So, it wouldn't be surprising to see him dominate again.
04:38And then, you know, they have everybody.
04:41He can throw the kitchen sink at you in the seventh game.
04:44Shohei said he can come in relief, too.
04:46So, wouldn't surprise me to see Shohei come in if there is a game seven.
04:52You know, you have Glass now being healthy.
04:54You can do pretty much anything.
04:56It wouldn't surprise me to see the Dodgers come back.
04:59But certainly their backs are against the wall right now.
05:02And, you know, the Blue Jays have a solid bullpen, solid starting staff.
05:07It's – I don't think anything's going to surprise me in this.
05:11I don't think it's over.
05:13But the Dodgers can't afford a big mistake.
05:16Final thought, game six elimination game.
05:19They can close this thing out at home in Toronto, probably party with Drake after.
05:24What are you watching for in this game six?
05:28See, I'm more of a Kendrick guy.
05:29They're not like us, bro.
05:32That's right.
05:33So, I'm looking to see if Yamamoto has it once again
05:37and if he can help his team get to a game seven.
05:40I know he wants it.
05:41He wanted to come in and, you know, with basically no rest
05:45and pitch that 18-inning game.
05:48So, he wants it.
05:50But we'll see what happens because this Blue Jays lineup is just –
05:53it's almost inevitable.
05:54Vlad Jr., absolute stud this series.
06:00You know, I'm just excited to watch this.
06:03It's going to be a great one.
06:05Now that I think about it, it really is Drake versus Kendrick all over again
06:09with Toronto versus L.A.
06:11So, Toronto wins this one.
06:13I'm expecting some new music from Drake.
06:16But Pitching Ninja, Rob, appreciate you hopping on with this, my man.
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