TORONTO — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton had their moment. The bases loaded, nobody out, trailing by two runs in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
When it mattered most, Judge chased a splitter in the dirt and Stanton watched a fastball blow past him. The missed opportunity defined a forgettable October evening at Rogers Centre that has the Yankees in a deep hole heading into Game 2.
“I definitely took some tough pitches, but in the end I didn’t get the job done,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to, just not doing the job.”
Judge’s critical strikeout changes everything
AP
The stage belonged to Aaron Judge. Bases loaded, nobody out, Kevin Gausman on the ropes. The Yankees captain had owned the Blue Jays ace entering Saturday, posting a 1.283 OPS against him with six career homers, more than he had hit off any other pitcher.
This was supposed to be Judge’s signature October moment.
Instead, he swung through an 86 mph splitter that dove below the strike zone for strike three, ending an eight-pitch battle that will haunt the Yankees all winter if they cannot recover.
“That’s a huge, huge strikeout obviously to (a guy) who is going to be the MVP of the league, probably,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Kevin Gausman admitted he got lucky earlier in the at-bat, but he set up the strikeout pitch perfectly by first throwing a 97 mph fastball inside that Judge fouled off.
“I thought the pitch before really set up the split down and away,” Gausman said. “In that moment, to be honest, I’m fine walking him. He can blow that game right open with one swing.”
Judge knew it the moment he swung. Ball four. A bases-loaded walk that would have made it a one-run game with Cody Bellinger coming up.
“Yes, definitely,” Judge said when asked if he should have taken the pitch. “You guys all saw it.”
After Bellinger drew a walk to force in a run and Ben Rice popped out, Stanton stepped in as the Yankees’ final hope to salvage the inning. Louis Varland entered from the bullpen and needed just four pitches to dispatch the veteran slugger.
The final offering: a 101 mph fastball that Stanton was hopelessly late on. Strike three. Inning over.
“Varland executed a good heater to G that he was late on,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Just weren’t able to punch through like we needed to in an inning where we had a chance to have a big one.”
Stanton finished 0 for 4 on Saturday night, continuing a postseason nightmare. He now has just one hit this October and is batting a miserable .067.
For a player who built his reputation on clutch October moments earlier in his career, this latest failure adds to a troubling pattern of disappearing when the Yankees need him most.
October demons persist for Judge
The irony is that Judge actually had a solid game by the numbers. He went 2 for 4 with a single and double, making him the only Yankees player to reach base more than once. He is batting .400 this postseason.
Aaron Judge has six hits this postseason, tied with Mookie Betts for the most in MLB… pic.twitter.com/35Emi6G7ut
But playoff success is not measured in batting averages for superstars. It is measured in moments, and Judge let another one slip away.
Since 2019, Judge is hitting just .202 with nine homers and 20 RBIs in postseason play. Boone recently predicted the captain will “have one where he goes crazy,” but that eruption did not come Saturday.
Not against Gausman, who turned what should have been Judge’s at-bat into a personal duel and won.
“Mano y mano,” Gausman called it afterward.
The pitcher walked off the mound pumping his fist. Judge walked back to the dugout knowing he had blown it.
The weight of Yankees expectations
Judge and Stanton share more than just pinstripes. They share the burden of massive expectations and the harsh reality of postseason struggles.
Judge, the MVP-caliber superstar who dominates all summer, searching for his defining October performance.
Together Saturday, they represented everything wrong with the Yankees’ approach in a game where they were outhit 14-6 and went just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously, you’d like to come through there and break the game open,” Bellinger said. “It didn’t happen. Gausman came and made some good pitches.”
The numbers are brutal for both sluggers when dissected. Judge went 2 for 4 but failed in the one at-bat that mattered. Stanton went 0 for 4 and looks completely lost at the plate.
No excuses, no answers
Judge took full responsibility in the interview room, as he always does. But responsibility does not change the scoreboard or erase the missed opportunity.
“We had an opportunity,” Judge said. “No outs, bases loaded. Thankfully, Belly got that walk to get the RBI, but then we couldn’t really get anything after that.”
The Yankees must now win Game 2 on Sunday or face returning to New York down 2-0 in the series. History says teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-five series advance 72.4% of the time.
Judge insists he remains confident
“I like our chances,” he said. “We’ve got to keep getting those opportunities and we’re going to come through when we need to.”
But those are just words. What the Yankees needed Saturday was action, production, results. They needed their two biggest bats to deliver in the biggest spot.
Judge and Stanton gave them nothing but heartbreak and questions about whether they can ever come through when October demands it most.
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