Aaron Judge brings a first and a personal best to save Yankees, match Ortiz

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NEW YORK — The Yankees were one inning away from seeing their postseason dreams fade when Aaron Judge stepped up and changed everything. Trailing 6-3 in the fourth inning of ALDS Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, the Yankees needed a spark. Judge gave them a miracle.

With two runners aboard and chants of “MVP! MVP!” echoing through the Bronx crowd of 47,399, Judge blasted a towering three-run homer off the left field foul pole to even the game. The shot ignited a furious comeback that carried the Yankees to a 9-6 victory over the Blue Jays and kept their playoff hopes alive.

Judge’s night went beyond that swing. He went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, three runs, a walk, and a double. He also made a stunning diving catch in right field that likely saved a run. It was the kind of all-around performance that defined the night and may redefine his postseason reputation.

A swing for the history books

Aaron Judge’s fourth-inning homer was extraordinary by any metric. The 99.7 mph inside fastball from Louis Varland was the hardest pitch Judge has ever turned into a home run. Statcast measured it 1.2 feet inside from the plate’s center — the farthest inside pitch he has ever sent out of the park.

According to MLB Stats, no player since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008 had ever homered on a 99 mph or faster pitch located that far inside. Not in the regular season, not in the postseason — until that swing.

“I get yelled at for swinging at them out of the zone, but now I’m getting praised for it,” Judge said with a smile. “It’s a game. You’ve got to go out there and play. I don’t care what the numbers say or where something was at. I’m just up there trying to put a good swing on a good pitch. It looked good to me.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider summed it up simply: “That was a ridiculous swing.”

Matching Big Papi’s elimination game record

That home run did more than just save the Yankees’ season — it also placed Judge in elite company. It was his sixth career homer in an elimination game, tying Hall of Famer David Ortiz for the most in MLB history.

The Yankees captain now shares a record with one of baseball’s greatest clutch hitters. New York is 4-2 in postseason elimination games when Judge goes deep, including Tuesday’s must-win thriller.

“It was a best-player-in-the-game type performance,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was special when, obviously needless to say, we’re backs against the wall and then some in a Game 3 situation.”

From Yankees desperation to domination

The night didn’t start well for New York. Starter Carlos Rodón struggled mightily, lasting just 2.1 innings and giving up six runs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered for the third straight game, and Davis Schneider scored on a close play at the plate. By the end of the third, the Yankees were in a 6-1 hole.

Historically, no MLB team had ever come back from a deficit of five or more runs in an elimination game — teams were 0-38 in such situations. The odds couldn’t have been worse.

“I think a couple of guys were pissed off, man,” third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “I think it kind of kicked us in the butt and got us locked in.”

Judge started the rally with an RBI double in the third, and Giancarlo Stanton followed with a sacrifice fly. That set the stage for his next at-bat. After Austin Wells reached on a dropped pop-up and Trent Grisham walked, the Yankees had two on with one out.

Varland worked Judge into an 0-2 count, then tried to sneak a fastball inside. Judge turned on it and ripped it high toward left.

“I was just saying, ‘Hit the foul pole,’” Cody Bellinger said. “That’s what I was thinking. Or hit it past the foul pole.”

The ball smacked the pole and sent Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. Judge had erased the deficit and re-energized the Bronx.

“I guess a couple of ghosts out there in Monument Park helped kind of keep that fair,” Judge said.

One swing changes everything

Momentum instantly swung in the Yankees’ favor. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning, and New York’s bullpen slammed the door shut with 6.2 scoreless innings.

Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, and Devin Williams kept the Blue Jays off the board before closer David Bednar recorded a five-out save. After being battered in Games 1 and 2 in Toronto, the Yankees bullpen suddenly looked untouchable.

“You could feel it in your bones,” Hill said. “It was crazy. It was amazing.”

Judge wasn’t done making plays. In the fifth, with the game tied and a runner on second, he made a diving grab on a line drive off Anthony Santander’s bat.

“The diving catch was great. A perfect jump on it,” Boone said. “Right when we got back in, now here they go, it looks like they’re going to lead off with base runners, and he shut it down right away.”

Erasing October demons

For Judge, the night served as redemption after a rough Game 1, where he struck out with the bases loaded in a 10-1 loss. That missed chance lingered until Tuesday’s outburst.

Now Judge is hitting .500 this postseason with an OPS of 1.304. His 11 hits through six playoff games are the most by a Yankees player since Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez in 2004. It was also his first three-hit postseason performance since 2018 against Boston.

“I know there’s been a lot of narrative about Judge and previous postseasons and stuff like that,” pitcher Clarke Schmidt said. “Just to see how locked in he is right now and where his swing is at, and he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder, it doesn’t come as a surprise.”

Boone compared Judge’s ability to handle Varland’s inside pitch to legendary hitters like Edgar Martinez and Manny Ramirez — players known for turning inside heat into line drives that stay fair.

The series continues

Despite the comeback, the Yankees still trail 2-1 in the best-of-five ALDS. Game 4 is set for Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, with rookie Cam Schlittler starting against a Blue Jays bullpen game after Toronto burned through six relievers in Game 3.

If New York forces a decisive Game 5, it would mark their fourth elimination-game win of the postseason.

“Tonight was special, but there’s still more work to be done,” Judge said. “Hopefully we have some more cool moments like this the rest of the postseason. We’ve got another big game tonight. Maybe we can do something special tonight and talk to all of you all one more time before we head back up north.”

The five-run rally ranked as the second-largest comeback in Yankees postseason history, behind only their six-run rally against Atlanta in the 1996 World Series. It also stands as the third-largest in an MLB elimination game.

For one unforgettable night, Aaron Judge reminded everyone why the Yankees are never out of a game — not when their captain is holding the bat.

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