NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a game-tying home run and drove in four runs in a defining performance for the ages, and the New York Yankees staved off elimination by rallying five runs to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-6 Tuesday night in Game 3 of their AL Division Series.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning and the Yankees took advantage of two Toronto errors to score eight unanswered runs. They closed to 2-1 in the best-of-five series, with Game 4 Wednesday night in the Bronx.
Judge went 3-for-4 with an intentional walk and scored three times, also making critical plays with his glove and legs as fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” After struggling at the plate in previous postseasons, he is 7 for 11 in this series (.636) with five RBIs and three walks.
With the season hanging in the balance, New York starter Carlos Rodon allowed six runs and six hits in 2⅓ innings – but five Yankees relievers combined for 6⅔ scoreless innings. Tim Hill got four outs for the win and David Bednar worked 1⅔ innings for a save as New York improved to 3-0 in playoff games this postseason.
It was the Yankees’ largest comeback in a playoff game, and tied for the second-most of any playoff game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer and Ernie Clement had four hits for the AL East champion Blue Jays, who squandered a golden opportunity to hold off the Yankees as Toronto tries to reach its first American League Championship Series since 2016.
Back-to-back doubles by Trent Grisham and Judge to start the third marked New York’s comeback from a 6-1 deficit. Later in the inning, Judge stayed in a situation between third base and home plate long enough to allow Cody Bellinger to reach third. This became important when Bellinger scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s sacrifice fly against Toronto starter Shane Bieber, which lasted 2⅔ innings.
Stanton also had an RBI single in the first half after Blue Jays second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa made a defensive error against his former team.
With the Yankees leading 6-3 in the fourth, third baseman Addison Barger dropped Austin Wells’ wind-blown popup for another costly one-out error. Grisham walked and right-hander Louis Varland was brought in to face Judge, who threw an 0-2 fastball clocked at 100 mph to the infield corner and somehow kept it, launching a three-run drive that echoed high off the left-field foul pole.
Judge tossed his bat aside and waved to his teammates on the bench as the sellout crowd of 47,399 went wild.
The right fielder then made a diving catch with a runner on second in the fifth, drawing more “MVP” chants.
Chisholm gave the Yankees their first lead of the series with a solo homer off Varland in the bottom half. Amed Rosario doubled and scored on Wells’ two-out single to make it 8-6, and Ben Rice added a sacrifice fly in the sixth that scored Judge after he was intentionally walked with one out and no one on base.
Call it the ultimate sign of respect. Or maybe fear.
Davis Schneider scored with one out in the first and Guerrero threw the 14th pitch of the game – a 2-0 changeup from Rodón – 427 feet into the Toronto bullpen in left center.
The next time, Yankees fans cheered when Guerrero was intentionally walked after Schneider’s double in the third.
Guerrero went full Superman as he dove across home plate to score on Clement’s single, and Anthony Santander’s two-run single capped a four-run inning that made it 6-1.
Yankees rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler is expected to start Wednesday night’s Game 4 in New York after turning in a dominant performance in a winner-take-all Wild Card Series game against rival Boston last Thursday at Yankee Stadium. Toronto should host a bullpen game.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
