LOS ANGELES – Three pitches, two home runs and World Series history made by the Toronto Blue Jays in a stunning start to a pivotal Game 5.
Leadoff man du jour Davis Schneider hit Blake Snell’s first pitch into the left field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, and before he could snugly don Toronto’s iconic home run jacket, franchise player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a 394-foot shot in the same neighborhood. Toronto 2, Los Angeles 0 before Snell could even settle in.
It was the first time in World Series history that a team led off a game with back-to-back home runs. And for Guerrero, it was second in as many nights and eighth of the postseason.
Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who posted a 0.86 ERA with just six hits given up in three playoff wins entering the World Series, opted to throw three fastballs out of the gate, and was punished for it.
Toronto kept up an aggressive approach that worked against Shohei Ohtani the night before, ambushing Snell with the two homers and three hits in their first four plate appearances.
The Blue Jays already pinned a loss on Snell in this World Series. He took a 2-2 tie into the bottom of the sixth in Game 1, but did not record an out and the Blue Jays went on to score nine runs in the inning en route to an 11-4 victory.
This time, they brought the pain from the jump.