TORONTO — The Yankees’ playoff hopes took another blow Sunday, undone by a rookie pitcher and their own unraveling at Rogers Centre. Toronto stormed to a 13-7 victory in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, putting New York in a two-game hole and on the verge of elimination.
The Blue Jays have now outscored the Yankees 23-8 across the first two contests. One more loss will end New York’s season.
Aaron Judge, though, refuses to concede.
“We’ve been here before,” Judge said. “Just go back to playing our baseball, put the pressure on them and anything can happen.”
Blue Jays rookie stuns Yankees bats
Trey Yesavage had barely unpacked his bags in Toronto before delivering the game of his life. The 22-year-old right-hander, making just his fourth career start, silenced a Yankees lineup built on power.
Yesavage carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, striking out 11 over 5 1/3 frames. He walked just one. His splitter baffled New York hitters, who swung at the pitch 16 times and missed on 11.
“That was nasty stuff,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That split is unlike much you ever run into.”
Eight of Yesavage’s strikeouts came on the splitter, and the Rogers Centre crowd of 44,764 erupted when John Schneider pulled him after Judge’s infield single broke up the no-hit bid.
Ben Rice admitted the rookie’s release point made him almost impossible to track. “It just comes down to the funky release and playing it off that fastball line,” Rice said.
Fried flames out early
Max Fried entered with ace credentials — a 19-5 record, a 2.86 ERA, and the Yankees’ faith as their $218 million stopper. Instead, he left in the fourth inning, charged with seven runs on eight hits.
Ernie Clement opened the damage with a two-run homer in the second. Judge’s misplay on Daulton Varsho’s double extended the inning, and Toronto pounced. Three more runs followed in the third, and when two more reached in the fourth, Boone made the move.
“They were on a lot of my pitches,” Fried said. “Credit to them, I didn’t get it done. It’s frustrating, especially coming out in a game like this and I needed to have a good one.”
Reliever Will Warren fared no better. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a grand slam that sent the crowd into frenzy and gave Toronto a 9-0 cushion. Guerrero finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and is 6-for-9 with two homers in the series.
Varsho added two homers of his own in a four-hit, four-RBI afternoon. Warren absorbed the punishment deep into the game, allowing four home runs as Boone looked to preserve his bullpen.
Yankees rally but far too late
Down 12-0 by the sixth inning, the Yankees finally showed signs of life. Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly later. Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Rice chipped in RBIs as New York scored seven runs across two innings.
The surge came against Toronto’s bullpen, which faltered once Yesavage exited. Seven relievers combined to allow seven runs while recording just 11 outs.
“When you’re down by a lot of runs, those at-bats against some of their bullpen arms can be very valuable,” Rice said. “Those are guys you might end up seeing in Games 3, 4 or 5.”
The late push wasn’t enough to erase what had already become a blowout.
History against New York
The math is grim. Teams that take a 2-0 lead at home in a best-of-five Division Series have advanced 31 of 34 times, a 91.2 percent rate. Twenty of those series ended in sweeps.
Rogers Centre has been a nightmare for the Yankees all season. They have lost eight of nine there in 2025, giving up 75 runs in those games.
Still, Judge reminded reporters that New York once climbed out of a similar hole. In 2017, the Yankees lost the first two ALDS games in Cleveland before winning three straight. Judge was a rookie on that team.
“We’ve got experience,” Judge said. “We’ve got guys in here who have been to the World Series, in some tough moments, backs against the wall. We’ve just got to show up and do our thing.”
What comes next
Carlos Rodón gets the ball Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium in Game 3, facing right-hander Shane Bieber. The Yankees must win to extend their season.
“I know we’ll show up ready to go expecting to win Tuesday night,” Boone said. “Obviously it feels like the world’s caving in around you, you lose two games like that in their building where it doesn’t go right. But all of a sudden you go out there and win a ballgame on Tuesday, the needle can change.”
Fried, after his rough start, said he believes the series is still within reach.
“We still have the ability to go out there and win three in a row and win the series,” he said. “We still got to believe.”
Stanton echoed that thought. “Obviously, we don’t like it,” he said. “But you get out of it one at a time. You can’t look to the whole series. Execute each inning, execute each pitch, and don’t look too far ahead.”
The Yankees return to the Bronx needing three straight wins. Their season now depends on it.
“Now we take it back home,” Judge said. “We’ve been playing with our backs against the wall all year long, so it’s nothing new for us.”
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