NEW YORK — With their season on the brink, the Yankees needed something extraordinary. They found it in their captain. Aaron Judge delivered the type of October moment fans had long waited for, turning a 6-1 deficit into the start of a remarkable comeback.
Behind Judge’s game-tying home run in the fourth inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s go-ahead blast in the fifth, the Yankees stormed back to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-6 on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.
The win kept New York alive in the best-of-five matchup, cutting the Blue Jays’ series lead to 2-1.
Early disaster for Rodon and Yankees
Carlos Rodon struggled badly, failing to record an out in the third inning. The left-hander surrendered six runs on six hits and two walks across 2 1/3 innings. Toronto appeared poised to send the Yankees packing after a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. two-run homer in the first and a four-run rally in the third.
Guerrero continued to torment New York, driving in runs as Toronto piled on. By the time Rodón exited, the Blue Jays held a commanding 6-1 lead, and Yankee Stadium fell silent.
Judge sparks Yankees comeback
The game turned in the bottom of the third when Trent Grisham doubled, Judge ripped an RBI double, and Giancarlo Stanton lofted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 6-3.
One inning later, Judge delivered the night’s defining swing. With two runners aboard, he lined a 99.7 mph fastball from reliever Louis Varland high off the left field foul pole for a three-run homer. The blast tied the game at 6-6 and set off bedlam among the 47,399 fans in attendance.
Judge’s reaction matched the moment. Usually stoic, he pointed emphatically toward the dugout as his teammates erupted.
“Any time we give him the ball, we feel like we have an excellent chance to win,” manager Aaron Boone said earlier about Rodon. But on this night, it was Judge who gave them that chance.
Chisholm delivers go-ahead homer
Momentum fully swung in New York’s favor when Jazz Chisholm Jr. came to bat in the fifth. Facing Varland, he crushed a 409-foot solo shot into the right-field seats. The home run gave the Yankees their first lead of the night at 7-6.
Catcher Austin Wells followed with an RBI single, pushing the score to 8-6. Later, Ben Rice drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, extending the margin to 9-6.
Bullpen answers the call
After Rodon’s exit, the Yankees bullpen pieced together 6 2/3 scoreless innings to secure the win. Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, and Devin Williams bridged the middle frames before closer David Bednar entered for a five-out save. Bednar struck out two and silenced a Blue Jays lineup that had battered New York in the first two games.
The relief corps’ effort stood in sharp contrast to Toronto’s bullpen, which faltered once again. Defensive miscues, including Addison Barger’s dropped pop-up that extended the fourth inning, only worsened the Blue Jays’ fate.
Judge’s complete performance
Judge finished 3-for-4 with a home run, double, four RBIs, and three runs scored. His defense also loomed large. In the fifth inning, with the game still tied, he made a diving catch in right field to rob Anthony Santander and prevent Toronto from regaining the lead.
The night added to Judge’s resurgent postseason. Entering Game 3, his October track record had been criticized. He carried a .205 career postseason average but is now batting .500 with a 1.304 OPS in these playoffs.
“He’s been our anchor all year,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr. “Tonight he showed why he’s the captain.”
Blue Jays unravel in the Bronx
Toronto’s Shane Bieber lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. Defensive errors and shaky relief pitching doomed the Blue Jays, who have now allowed 17 runs in the last two games combined.
Guerrero Jr. did his part with a first-inning homer and multiple RBIs, but it wasn’t enough. The Blue Jays’ bullpen, already stretched thin, could not contain the Yankees once Judge ignited the rally.
Series shifts with one swing
The Yankees entered Tuesday down 2-0 in the series, having been outscored 23-8 in Toronto. The 9-6 victory not only kept them alive but reshaped the momentum heading into Wednesday’s Game 4.
Rookie ace Cam Schlittler, who struck out 12 Red Sox in eight scoreless innings in the Wild Card decider, will start for New York. Toronto is expected to counter with a bullpen game.
But the story of the night will remain Judge’s long-awaited postseason breakthrough. His towering homer off the foul pole may go down as one of the signature moments in his Yankees career.
A night for the captain
From the early deficit to the defensive gem, Judge’s Game 3 performance embodied the resilience the Yankees needed to extend their season.
In front of a roaring Bronx crowd, the captain finally had his defining October swing. It was the moment fans had been waiting for, the one that might rewrite his postseason narrative.
And for the Yankees, it meant one more game, one more chance.
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