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LOS ANGELES — There are places on this earth a person can go to test the thickness of their skin and the resolve of their fight-or-flight instinct. Death Valley. The Danakil Depression. Everest. The visiting bullpen at Dodger Stadium.

Toronto Blue Jays 22-year-old pitcher Trey Yesavage, who only started pitching professionally six months ago, stepped into the toxicity of Chavez Ravine about 20 minutes before World Series Game 5 Wednesday, preparing for the first road postseason start of his budding career.

“You’ll never make it through two innings!” someone shouted. “Make it one!” said another. “You’re going to give up a lot of home runs!”

Decorum allows that those are among the few barbs that can be shared.

What happened next was the harbinger to what would be one of the greatest displays of pitching the World Series has ever seen.

Yesavage turned to his pitching coach, Pete Walker, and said, “I love this!” He recalled later, “That was so much fun, with the way everybody was hating me.”

Once Yesavage stepped on the game mound, the Dodgers, the defending National League champions, the highest scoring team in the league and a team that had just seen him five days ago, had no chance. Yesavage and the Blue Jays overwhelmed the Dodgers in a 6–1 victory that puts Toronto one game from the World Series title. Its first chance is Game 6 Friday.

Yesavage set World Series records for the most strikeouts without a walk (12), most strikeouts by a rookie pitcher and most swings and misses (23) in the pitch-tracking era, which began in 2008.

He did it all with a weird, mechanical delivery in which he takes a short stride and windmills the ball home from a high release point. Yesavage pitches like a man changing a light bulb while standing reluctantly and perilously on a ladder.

 ”So, I think he was very comfortable there,” Walker said. “I'd been here for a couple of days, seen the atmosphere. He wasn't overwhelmed by any stretch. I could tell by his warmup.

“He locked in, had great things to say, had a great approach. And really, you know, even from the first few warmup hits, I have a good feel for when someone's gonna be on, to be honest with you. And I felt like he was gonna be on here.”

Yesavage threw seven innings while continuing to keep the Dodgers in a deep October funk. The Dodgers must win Game 6 behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

SELBE: World Series Game 5 Takeaways: Dave Roberts Is Running Out of Options

Yesavage’s accelerated path to stardom

It was only a year ago that Yesavage entered the draft out of East Carolina. He was a consensus top five pick but slid because of concerns about his medicals. The Mariners rated him among the top two picks in the draft but passed because of injury concerns. The Jays snapped him up at 20. The first thing everybody noticed about him was his goofy, aw-sucks mannerisms. He started the next season, this year, at Class A. Word began to spread about this amazing giraffe of a pitcher.

“You know, when we drafted him, we obviously had a video and we looked at him and you’re like, “Oh, boy, that kid's gonna be really good,’” Walker said. “But even early on, because it is a funky delivery, funky release, it seemed like early on watching a lot of balls that were in the dirt were [inducing swings].”

Said Kevin Gausman, “I knew we drafted him. Honestly, the first video I saw of him throwing after the draft, I was kinda like, ‘Wow, what is this?’ It kind of jumps out. It's funky, it's kind of head, head towards the other.”

Yesavage hit every rung on the ladder before making his MLB debut Sept. 15.

“ Honestly,” Walker said, “we're hearing about him punching everybody out and I don't think anybody here honestly thought they would see him here.  I honestly thought only of him getting to the big leagues and getting his feet wet, as opposed to getting the big leagues and dominating the World Series.”

Split-finger determined success

The Philadelphia Phillies found a wild way to lose a game Tuesday night as the San Francisco Giants walked them off with a historic inside-the-park three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning at Oracle Park.

Giants catcher Patrick Bailey was the hero as his hard hit to right field bounced off the brick wall and shot past Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh. He was able to eventually chase it down and fire the ball back to the infield but they never had a chance of stopping Bailey.

Phillies announcers Ruben Amaro Jr. and Tom McCarthy had the perfect reactions to it right after Bailey crossed home plate.

"Tom, I've seen a whole lot of things in this game. But I've never seen that," Amaro Jr. said. "That is truly an amazing, astonishing thing. I've just never seen anything like it."

"Nope, not something like that," McCarthy said.

Here's their call of the play:

You gotta love baseball.

In baseball, several different roads can lead to a save—and on Friday, Houston Astros pitcher Jason Alexander took the most unconventional.

After Lance McCullers Jr. pitched the first six innings of the Astros' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Alexander entered in his stead. He proceeded to throw three shutout innings and give up two hits, while walking two and striking out two.

The result? A save for Alexander in a game Houston won 18–1, as a pitcher who throws at least three innings in relief and finishes a game with a lead of any size receives a save. That is tied for the 24th-most lopsided margin of victory in a game with a save in baseball history per Baseball Reference; Texas Rangers pitcher Wes Littleton holds the record with a save in his team's infamous 30–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in 2007.

The historic save was the first of Alexander's career; he's pitched parts of two seasons with three different teams. He has just three saves in the minors, where he reportedly returned after Friday's game and where he has primarily been a starting pitcher.

It feels like a safe bet to say none of those were as painless as this one.

Tottenham hero Cristian Romero revealed international team-mate Lionel Messi as the influence behind his "beautiful" last-gasp overhead kick goal against Newcastle. Spurs' trip to St James’ Park ended in a breathless finale, with the Argentine defender scoring an acrobatic equaliser deep into stoppage time to rescue a 2-2 draw.

• Newcastle dominate early but made to settle for a point

  For much of the evening, Newcastle appeared set for a victory that would have accurately reflected the flow of the contest. Eddie Howe’s side were sharp from the opening whistle, pinning Spurs back and dictating the first half with confidence. Yet, despite their control, the breakthrough refused to come until midway through the second period. It was the introduction of captain Bruno Guimaraes that changed the tempo. Howe, searching for inspiration, turned to his midfield leader, and within minutes the Brazilian had stamped his authority. Anthony Gordon whipped a teasing cross into the box, a flick redirected the ball into Guimaraes’ path, and he dispatched a precise finish into the corner. 

  Up to that point, Tottenham had offered little more than occasional flashes of counter-attacking intent. But Thomas Frank, confronted by another worrying result, responded boldly with a triple substitution. Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Xavi Simons were thrown into the fray. The impact was immediate. Mohammed Kudus swung a dangerous ball into the penalty area just seven minutes after Newcastle’s opener, and Romero, who was already leading by example at the back, launched himself into a diving header that skimmed off his forehead and drew Spurs level.

  The drama only escalated as the final minutes ticked down. A Newcastle corner sparked a VAR review when Rodrigo Bentancur tangled awkwardly with Dan Burn at the back post. After a lengthy check, a penalty was awarded, and Gordon made no mistake, sending goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way in the 86th minute. However, Spurs were unwilling to throw in the towel. When a Tottenham corner was punched weakly by Aaron Ramsdale, the ball travelled only as far as Romero. He showed great athleticism to produce a bicycle kick, and although his connection wasn't as clean as he would have liked, the ball skipped through the crowded box and rolled into the net to break Newcastle hearts.

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  Romero name drops Messi

  After the match, Romero admitted the audacity of the attempt came from studying Messi up close during Argentina training sessions.

  "I train every day with Leo Messi in the national team and I watch him,” he said to Sky Sports. ”It's a beautiful goal."

  He also acknowledged the emotional weight of the moment, saying the Tottenham team had been deeply aware of their recent shortcomings.

  Romero said: "It's very important. In the last three or four games, the team knows it's not been good enough. Today, the mentality to play like this altogether it's a difficult time, but especially in this game, I love the mentality.”

• Thomas Frank praises captain’s leadership at both ends

  Spurs manager Thomas Frank was effusive in his praise, describing Romero’s performance as “exceptional” and highlighting not just his goals but also his discipline and composure in defence.

  "The perfect bicycle kick, hit the shin, aiming for the bottom corner," he said. "I think let's start praising Cuti, I think he deserved that for all of the top performance, defending, on the ball, coolness, calmness, duels. And then getting up there and scoring two goals. I think the bicycle kick will most likely get a little bit more praise, but I think the header is more exceptional, the way he does that is better than many strikers."

  Frank emphasised that the team’s resilience was what pleased him most.

  "The performance showed fantastic mentality and character," he added to Sky Sports. "Every team needs that. It is fair to say it has been a tough week, fourth game in 10 days, third away game. St James' Park is always a difficult place to come. Last 60 minutes I am very happy with that performance overall. The ability to react to setbacks was great. We suffered the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you need to suffer, after that we were very brave, calm on the ball going forward. There's a lot to love about the performance."

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  What comes next?

  The draw leaves Tottenham 11th in the Premier League table with 19 points from their opening 14 matches. The wider concern is their long winless run, which now extends to five matches in all competitions. Yet the manner of the comeback, and the grit shown in the final 30 minutes, injected a sliver of optimism into an atmosphere that has grown increasingly restless. Frank’s side will aim to turn resilience into wins when they return home to host Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Needing to bat out a draw for Division One survival, visitors plunge to 85 all out

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay27-Sep-2025Yorkshire 475 (Agarwal 175, Hill 88, Lyth 69, Thompson 50, Raine 5-76, Ghafari 4-119) beat Durham 346 (Raine 101, Bedingham 93, Rhodes 50, White 5-69) and 85 (Hill 4-14, Bess 4-22) by an innings and 44 runsDurham threw away a golden chance to secure their Division One status in the Rothesay County Championship as they failed to bat out the final two-and-a-bit sessions of their season finale against Yorkshire at Headingley and were relegated in the process.Durham started their second innings 129 runs in arrears with a minimum of 89 overs left in the match against a Yorkshire side whose top-flight status had just been sealed by events elsewhere.With relegation rivals Hampshire losing to Surrey at 10.55am, Yorkshire were safe. And that result gave Durham a lifeline. Draw the game and they too were secure in Division One for next season.But they couldn’t grasp the chance, crumbling from 29 for 1 to 85 all out inside 45 overs during a remarkable afternoon collapse which saw George Hill and Dom Bess shine with four wickets apiece.Durham coach, Ryan Campbell, suggested afterwards that a “defensive mindset” had cost his side, as they attempted to survive rather than wipe out the deficit quickly.”I can’t explain it. It’s just a total capitulation,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s happened a few times this year. The pressure went on and our blokes couldn’t stop it. Obviously, there’s a room full of gutted people. We were handed a lifeline and we didn’t take it.”I’ve always said that we bat at our best when we look to score. When you look to score, you get yourself into better positions and make better decisions. I think, obviously, there was a very defensive mindset of trying to get through. What then happens is that if you lose a couple of wickets, you haven’t gone anywhere.”The facts are that we were 120-odd behind when we started, and we needed to get rid of that as quick as we could. That takes courage to back your skills and ability, and that’s something we’ve always done.”But today was one of those days that will probably go down in Durham’s folklore of hanging our heads in shame. We’re going to have to rebuild and come back bigger and better next year.”Yorkshire’s fourth win of the season – this by an innings and 44 runs – consolidated their position in seventh place, with Durham losing for the sixth time to join Worcestershire in Division Two next season.Play started here at Headingley with Yorkshire advancing their first-innings 465 for 9 to 475 all out.Jordan Thompson moved from 44 to 50 and was last man out to Ben Raine’s seam, drilling a catch to long-off. When Thompson reached his fifty off 112 balls, he tapped the white rose on his chest with his bat in an obvious acknowledgement of his love for his home county ahead of a winter move to Warwickshire on a three-year contract.Raine finished with excellent figures of 5 for 76 from 35.4 overs. Having scored a first-innings 101, he became the fifth man in Durham’s first-class history to hit a century and return a five-wicket haul in the same match. He didn’t deserve this outcome, despite an ill-judged shot with the bat in the second innings.So, with Durham’s task clear, there was absolutely no need for adventure with the bat in hand.They reached lunch at 27 for 1 in 23 overs, losing Emilio Gay caught behind off the inside-edge pushing forwards at Hill’s seam. But then came the drama, the visitors losing their last nine wickets for 56.Bess had Lees caught behind for 18 pushing forwards just after lunch, a beauty of a delivery to the left-hander.And when Thompson’s seam accounted for Ben McKinney and David Bedingham in successive overs, Durham were 62 for 4 in the 35th. McKinney was lbw offering no shot, Bedingham caught behind.Hill also trapped Ollie Robinson lbw with one that kept low shortly afterwards and struck again in his next over to get Graham Clark caught at backward point for his 50th Championship wicket of the season. Durham were 76 for 6 in the 41st over.It took less than four more overs for the game to finish in deteriorating light. Raine miscued to mid-off running around as he tried to hit Bess over the top before Matthew Potts was caught at short leg and Daniel Hogg was caught behind – three wickets falling in the 44th over.Will Rhodes was then trapped lbw by Hill to finish the game, the last four wickets falling for two runs in only 10 balls.Yorkshire were jubilant, especially Hill with 4 for 14 in 10.5 overs and Bess with 4 for 22 from 17.Durham were disconsolate, and it will take some time to work out how they let this one get away. Hamphire survived in their place after one almighty scare.

Rangers invested heavily in the summer but, given their current predicament, expect plenty more signings in January too.

During the summer transfer window, led by manager Russell Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell, the Gers signed 13 new players, splashing around £30m, a huge amount for a Scottish club.

The most expensive of these additions was striker Youssef Chermiti, arriving from Everton for £8m which could rise to £10m, their second-most expensive signing of all-time, but the Gers still appear light in attack, so could new manager Danny Röhl demand the addition of a new centre-forward he knows rather well.

Rangers' search for reinforcements

Even before appointing out-of-work Röhl, Rangers had taken advantage of Sheffield Wednesday’s predicament, signing winger Djeidi Gassama for a cut-price £2.2m in July.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The EFL Championship club entered administration this week, usually a dark day for any football club, but on this occasion it was a day of celebration, because it means Dejphon Chansiri is no longer running the club.

Supporters rushed to Hillsborough to buy tickets and merchandise, having been boycotting both, but there are serious ramifications, given that the Owls were slapped with a 12-point deduction, more could follow for failing to pay staff, meaning relegation to EFL League One appears inevitable, while a new owner still has to be found, all why Röhl walked away in July.

Thus, for as long as the administrators remain in charge, their task is to raise as much cash as possible, which includes selling players.

As a result, Sports Boom are reporting that Röhl is targeting a move for Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri, with the new boss telling the Glasgow side to put together ‘a proposed deal” for the youngster.

They add that Röhl is ‘eager to bolster his attacking options’, while adding that the German coach was an ‘influential figure in Cadamarteri’s development’, thereby potentially set to take advantage of the financial crisis in South Yorkshire by snapping up a bargain

So, could the 20-year-old soon be swapping Owlerton for Govan?

What Bailey Cadamarteri would bring to Rangers

Born in Leeds, Cadamarteri joined Sheffield Wednesday as an eight year old, making his senior debut in the EFL Trophy against Leicester City’s under-21s in October 2022.

He did not then feature for the Owls’ first team again for over a year, largely due to surgery, handed his league debut by Röhl against Millwall in November 2023, before scoring his first senior goal during a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers a few weeks later.

He then also netted against Norwich, QPR and Swansea, before spending last season on loan at Lincoln City, scoring eight times in 31 outings for the Imps, his campaign at Sincil Bank cut short by a groin injury suffered mid-way through the season.

Now back at Sheffield Wednesday, given that many of the Owls’ senior players departed during the summer due to financial turmoil, he has started nine of their 12 EFL Championship matches, with the table below documenting his importance to Henrik Pedersen’s side.

Minutes

838

7th

Goals

1

4th

Expected goals

1.8

2nd

Shots

20

1st

Shots on target

5

2nd

Big chances missed

2

1st

Key passes

6

5th

Attempted take-ons

23

2nd

Touches in box

39

1st

As the table emphasises, Cadamarteri has been an integral figure for Wednesday this season, scoring during a 2-2 draw with Wrexham at the Racecourse in August.

He has though had the most shots of any Wednesday player, missing two Opta-defined big chances, while over 18% of his total touches have come in the opposition penalty area, showing that he offers an attacking presence.

Meantime, the 20-year-old has also made an interesting choice when it comes to international football.

After representing England at youth level, he switched his allegiance to Jamaica earlier this year, debuting for the Reggae Boyz in Bermuda in September, scoring against Trinidad & Tobago in Kingston a few days later.

Thus, if Steve McClaren’s team collect four points from their two qualifiers in November, again Trinidad & Tobago and then Curaçao, they’ll be heading for a first World Cup since France ’98, which could give Cadamarteri a platform to increase his exposure and market value, currently valued at around £1.1m by Football Transfers.

Ali Maxwell labels the young striker a “finisher” while Röhl, when the pair were still together in South Yorkshire, described him as “dangerous”.

A report by Total Football Analysis agrees, noting that he ‘consistently moves around to find pockets of space’, while praising his ability to ‘occupy spaces intelligently’ and excellent penalty box positioning.

Thus, it is clear that Cadamarteri is a talented young player, one who could well be available for a slashed price, while he may be eager to re-untie with Röhl north of the border.

Summer signing Chermiti has scored only once for Rangers to date, his first goal for anyone since May 2023, looking very unconvincing overall, while fellow centre-forwards Danilo and Bojan Miovski have only two goals to their name so far this season.

Given the dearth of quality in Rangers’ striker department, the young Jamaican international could come in and be first-choice from the word go, firing the Gers up the table.

Rohl could now turn "exciting" Rangers star into his own Shankland at Ibrox

Following Rangers’ 3-1 home win over Kilmarnock on Sunday, has Danny Röhl unearthed an “exciting” attacker who could be their own Lawrence Shankland?

ByBen Gray Oct 28, 2025

Newcastle United are looking to push on under Eddie Howe and may now have identified another exciting star who could make a mark at St James’ Park.

Newcastle claim last-gasp victory over Fulham

With a mixed start to the Premier League campaign setting the scene for a fascinating contest on Tyneside, the Magpies were able to show resilience to claim all three points against Fulham on Saturday courtesy of a Bruno Guimaraes effort in injury time.

In what could turn out to be a crucial victory for the hosts, Howe’s men deserved to come out on top on the balance of play, given they took on 18 shots to the Cottagers’ 12 and recorded an Expected Goals total of 2.14, per Fotmob.

Speaking post-match, the former Bournemouth manager embraced his side’s ‘relentless’ quality to weather a frantic final 20 minutes to seal a morale-boosting win.

He told Match of the Day: “You didn’t think we could get that second goal, it was end to end, it was really attacking performance from both teams, both teams were going for the win. We are delighted to get it ourselves. It was a really good last 20 minutes from us; we were relentless in our pursuit to try to win, and eventually, one of those chances fell for us.”

Even if Nick Woltemade’s goalscoring run ground to a halt, Newcastle showed another side to their game to drag themselves over the line to keep pace in the hunt for continental qualification, though they now have little time to recover before an EFL Cup last 16 clash against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.

On-field matters will take priority for now, though, it appears the Magpies are already doing work behind the scenes to identify transfer targets to bolster their bid for another successful season.

Newcastle in Hayden Hackney scouting mission

According to TBR, Newcastle have been scouting Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney over the last few weeks as they size up a move for the promising England Under-21 starlet.

Labelled “outstanding” by Jonathan Woodgate, the Redcar-born star has registered two goals and two assists in 13 appearances so far this season, drawing further interest from clubs such as Tottenham, Manchester United, and Crystal Palace.

Brighton and Hove Albion, Fulham, and Brentford also have keen eyes on his development, and Graeme Bailey has confirmed that ‘there could be some very big offers coming in January’ for the 23-year-old in light of his recent form.

WhoScored show that Hackney has been an offensive threat in the Championship this term, taking on an average of 2.2 shots per match and sliding through around 1.7 key passes per game.

Ultimately, competition for his signature is fierce, and a departure from the Riverside Stadium may only occur if Middlesbrough fail to earn promotion.

Despite this, Newcastle are a tempting proposition for any player rising through the English football pyramid, so it will be over to them to put forward a tempting package.

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