Dodgers head into Game 6 on brink of World Series elimination; Yamamoto to start

TORONTO (KABC) — It’s win or go home for the Dodgers.

Friday is Game 6 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles is hoping starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto can help them win.

The Boys in Blue are facing elimination with Toronto leading 3-2 in the Fall Classic. They need to win the last two games of the series to bring another championship to L.A.

Watch Eyewitness News all day for live reports on World Series Game 6 from Rob Fukuzaki in Toronto.

Yamamoto and Toronto’s Kevin Gausman are expected to showcase their use of the split-finger fastball in Game 6.

Split-finger fastballs have been used for 6.8% of postseason pitches this year, more than double last year’s 2.4% and up from 1.5% when pitch tracking started in 2008.

Splitters are throw with index and middle fingers spread wide, intended to have substantial downward break.

Usage dropped after the pitch gained a reputation for causing elbow injuries. Just 1.4% of regular-season pitches were splitters when tracking started. The percentage climbed to 2.2% in 2023, 3.1% in 2024 and 3.3% this year.

“Going back a few years, I think certain people thought they couldn’t throw it, they couldn’t actually get their fingers wide enough,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Pitch design has changed, and I think guys have figured out different ways to grip it, like, Gaus’s is different than Trey’s, Trey’s is different than Seranthony’s, Yariel’s is different than — they all hold it a little bit differently. So I think pitchers have just gotten to the point where they understand that pitch works against certain swing types that are pretty prevalent in the league and they figured out ways to kind of manipulate to get the same action.”

Gausman’s 37.6% splitter usage during the season was third behind Detroit’s Rafael Montero (46.9%) and Philadelphia’s Jhoan Duran (39.7%) among those who threw at least 1,000 pitches.

Among starting pitchers who threw at least 100 splitters, Yamamoto held batters to a .136 average, third behind Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (.119) and Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach (.132).

Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will consider using Shohei Ohtani as an opener or even as an outfielder in Game 7 if Los Angeles forces the World Series against Toronto to the limit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.