Instant Reaction: Yesavage sets Blue Jays record for most strikeouts in MLB debut

Yesavage proceeded to set the Blue Jays’ franchise record for strikeouts in a debut with nine over five innings, allowing only one run and five baserunners. He induced 19 whiffs – tied for the second-most of any Blue Jays starter this season – while his four-seam fastball sat 94.6 mph and maxed out at 96.4. The right-hander got 11-of-19 whiffs and five-of-nine strikeouts with his splitter.  

Rays counterpart Joe Boyle countered with high-powered stuff of his own, topping out at 99 mph with his fastball, 94 with his splitter and 93 with his slider while holding the Blue Jays to only three hits and striking out five over six innings.  

Yesavage was swiftly welcomed to the big leagues as Chandler Simpson smacked a knee-high fastball up the middle and then scored from first on an opposite-field double by Yandy Diaz before he recorded an out. That stood as the game’s only run for the first seven innings. But it also didn’t take long for the Blue Jays’ top prospect to get his first major-league strikeout as the next batter, Brandon Lowe, went down swinging on three straight splitters. 

Andrés Giménez made a hard-charging play on a slow chopper for the second out, and with runners on second and third, another ground ball to short ended the threat in Yesavage’s first MLB inning.  

After allowing a one-out walk to Diaz in the third, Yesavage proved his stuff against the heart of the Rays order, getting Lowe and Junior Caminero to wave at a splitter and slider, respectively, for another pair of strikeouts. Then Yesavage struck out the side in the fourth, making quick work of the Rays’ Nos. 5 through 7 hitters with exquisite command and devastating secondary offerings. He needed only ten pitches (and the only ball he threw appeared to be in the zone). 

Ernie Clement led off the eighth inning with the Blue Jays’ first extra-base hit of the game before being sac bunted to third by Tyler Heineman. A sac fly by Andres Gimenez scored Clement from third and tied the score 1-1. It was the Blue Jays’ AL-leading 32nd sac bunt of the season. A line-drive single from George Springer scored the ghost runner, Clement, from second in the 11th for what stood as the winning run.

The Blue Jays’ top leverage relievers combined to pitch five scoreless innings, highlighted by sparkling diving plays by Addison Barger and Andres Gimenez in the eighth and two scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th from Braydon Fisher.  

Yesavage became only the second pitcher from the 2024 amateur draft, after Chase Burns, to make his MLB debut this season. He had a 3.12 ERA with 160 strikeouts and 42 walks over 98 minor-league innings, along with the best strikeout rate (41.1%) and K-BB% (30.6%) in affiliated ball (min. 65 IP), before the recent promotion. 

John Schneider said to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi that “We’re trying to just have — I’ve said this before — the best 14 pitchers that we have in our system helping us win games,” before Yesavage’s start. He undoubtedly looked like he belonged in the group in his first major-league action. 

Following the comeback win, the Blue Jays now hold a 5.0 game lead over the Yankees for the division title and a 3.0 game lead over the Detroit Tigers for the top record in the AL.