LOS ANGELES — Blake Snell gave up more homers in his first three pitches than he had allowed in the rest of the postseason.
It didn’t seem to bother him, though.
“They didn’t really get to me,” the Dodgers left-hander said after a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night. “It was the first pitch of the game. It was 97 mph and he hit it 98 mph. Pretty unlucky.”
After Davis Schneider’s first-pitch homer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a homer on the third pitch, the first time in World Series history that a team led off the game with back-to-back homers.
“Vlad, that’s just a bad pitch,” Snell said. “After that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Figured out the lineup, what they like to do.”
Snell gave up five runs in 6⅔ innings, after allowing five in five innings in a loss in Game 1. He said he was satisfied that he made some adjustments this time around, but he acknowledged that rings somewhat hollow.
“The numbers say different,” Snell said. “They got five runs. That’s what matters. It was tough.”
One clear adjustment that Snell made was the use of his fastball.
After the two homers in the first, which both came on fastballs, Snell threw 22 pitches before he used his fastball again.
“I think they were ambushing the fastball,” Snell said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a good adjustment.
“I thought clearly early they were aggressive to the fastball, Schneider, Vladdy, and then you got the (Bo) Bichette strikeout on some breaking balls, and I think then he just kind of settled into the game,” Roberts said. “I honestly thought he threw the ball well. He gave us everything he had, so I think that early on they were just on the fastball, and you got to sort of adjust if that’s the case.”
Schneider said he got some advice from veteran leadoff hitter George Springer, who is out with an injury, to always look for a fastball on the first pitch of the game. The Blue Jays clearly had a solid approach against Snell beyond that, though.
“I think a lot of the guys did a really good job tonight just seeing pitches and making him work,” Schneider said. “That’s what you kind of got to do with a guy like that, just try to make him work, wear him down, just because he has such good stuff and just got to make him kind of be patient a little bit, foul pitches, and try not to strikeout, try to work some walks, and let him get frustrated out there, put some pressure on the defense, and I feel like we did that.”
After the shocking start, Snell settled down and gave up just one more run through the sixth, and that one would not have scored if right fielder Teoscar Hernandez hadn’t misplayed a hit into a triple.
“It’s unlucky,” Snell said. “I’m not one to make excuses or anything close to that. It was pretty unlucky. Only so much you can do.”
Snell and the Dodgers still trailed 3-1 when he took the mound in the seventh with 92 pitches. He gave up a leadoff single to Addison Barger, and then with one out he walked No. 9 hitter Andres Gimenez.
“Walk the nine hole guy that I struck out twice already,” Snell said. “I gotta be better there.”
Snell, who left after his 116th pitch, said he was not fatigued at the end. The final two runs that were charged to him came after he was out of the game.
“I was throwing 97, 98 (miles per hour),” Snell said. “I felt good. I feel strong. I’ve been training to be ready for this. I felt good. I trust me. It’s just frustrating.”
Catcher Will Smith said he was pleased overall with Snell’s outing.
“I thought he pitched really well, honestly,” Smith said. “You know, after the first two homers lead off the game, he kind of settled in. He gave the one run a little later, but I thought he pitched well.”
However one analyzes Snell’s performance, it was nowhere near good enough to outduel the 22-year-old rookie who shared the mound with him. Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage, who also faced Snell in Game 1, was the star of the game, holding a struggling Dodgers lineup to one run while striking out 12 and walking none in seven innings.
“You’re aware of it,” Snell said. “He’s pitching good and missing bats. Twelve strikeouts in seven innings. He’s riding the high. It’s tough, you know, We haven’t seen him. It’s his rookie year. He’s a good pitcher. He’s pitched two good games against me. Good for him. We’ve got more games left.”