WASHINGTON -- Rookie Trey Yesavage continues to pitch like the Blue Jays’ future ace. And on Wednesday afternoon, he was also their present-day stopper.
A day after his 23rd birthday, the right-hander allowed one run and three hits over 6 2/3 innings to help the Blue Jays secure their first series victory in three weeks with a 5-2 win over the Nationals in the rubber game.
After Ernie Clement’s game-tying double in the sixth, Daulton Varsho knocked in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning infield single off Orlando Ribalto to secure Toronto's first series triumph since taking two of three against the Giants from July 6-8.
Varsho also helped Yesavage with two out-of-the-ordinary grabs in center field to deny Brady House, including a leaping warning-track catch in the first that may have prevented a home run.
Kazuma Okamoto added a two-run double in the eighth for his third hit, then scored on George Springer’s single to provide some welcome insurance.
Yesavage entered Wednesday receiving only 3.4 runs of support per nine innings, the eighth-lowest mark among the 112 pitchers with 15 or more starts across MLB.
But even when it was tight, Yesavage (5-5, 3.73 ERA) rarely encountered trouble, striking out four, walking three and facing only four batters with runners in scoring position. Three of those at-bats came in the fourth, when Jacob Young somehow reached a splitter well off the inside corner to loop a go-ahead two-out double to left before Jorbit Vivas grounded out to second.
The last came in the seventh when Yesavage struck out Vivas on a 2-2 slider that dove out of the zone before Tyler Rogers came on to retire Nasim Nuñez. Rogers got the one out before allowing a run when three straight batters reached in the eighth.
Louis Varland came on and cleaned up Rogers’ jam while preventing two inherited runners from scoring, then completed the ninth for his 23rd save. It was Varland’s second of the series, accomplishing that feat for the first time since consecutive saves against the Red Sox on June 16-17.