Yankees stay alive with rousing comeback vs Blue Jays in ALDS Game 3: Highlights

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge hit a towering three-run homer in the fourth and Jazz Chisholm scorched a tie-breaking shot in the fifth, capping a comeback from a five-run deficit, and the New York Yankees staved off elimination with a 9-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

Toronto still leads the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 Wednesday night in New York. The Yankees are attempting to become the eighth team to win a Division Series after dropping the first two games, a feat they also accomplished in 2017.

Trailing 6-1 in the fourth, the Yankees scored eight runs over the next four innings, with those two homers, a run-scoring single by Austin Wells, and a sacrifice fly from Ben Rice.

The much-maligned Yankee bullpen did the rest, with five pitchers giving up only three hits in the last six innings. David Bednar retired the last five Toronto batters to earn the save.

But it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has eight RBI in the series, that got the Blue Jays off to a quick start in the first inning after Davis Schneider walked, taking New York starter Carlos Rodon’s 84 mph changeup and planted it 427 feet into the seats in center field.

Guerrero has punished Yankee pitching throughout the series, hitting a home run in each game so far, as the Blue Jays will once again try to clinch their first appearance in the ALCS since 2016, when they lost in five games to Cleveland.

The Blue Jays tacked on four more runs in the third, ending the night for Rodon, who didn’t get out of the inning after giving up Anthony Santander’s two-run single. Rodon, an 18-game winner in the regular season, gave up six runs on six hits.

Toronto starter Shane Bieber, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 26 and was dealt from the Guardians at the trade deadline, was mostly ineffective. The 2020 AL Cy Young winner didn’t figure in the decision, getting the hook after 3 ⅔ innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs on 54 pitches.

New York clawed their way back into the game, scoring two in the third. In the fourth. Austin Wells reached on an error by third baseman Addison Barger, who was a defensive replacement, and Trent Grisham walked. Judge, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, then drove the third pitch he saw from reliever Louis Varland, a 100-mph fastball, to left field as the ball caromed off the foul pole to tie the score at six.

Varland wasn’t through giving up homers as he gave up Chisholm’s solo shot in the next inning to give the Yankees their first lead of the series. The right-hander was tagged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead homer.

The Yankees are now 4-58 in the postseason all-time when trailing by five runs or more. They won Game 4 of the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves, Game 1 of the 1997 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, and Game 1 of the 2010 ALCS against the Texas Rangers.

New York is relying on rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler, who struck out 12 in the decisive Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox, to extend their season. Toronto is yet to announce its starting pitcher for Game 4.

— Scooby Axson, USA TODAY Sports

Ben Rice sac fly makes it 9-6

In the bottom of the sixth, Ben Rice hit a sacrifice fly to right against Brendon Little making it 9-6 in favor of the Yankees. Yariel Rodriguez came on for Little with two outs and retired Giancarlo Stanton to end the inning.

Austin Wells RBI single gives Yankees another

Austin Wells ripped an RBI single to right field with two outs, extending the Yankees' lead to 8-6 in the bottom of the fifth. Wells was thrown out at second trying to advance, but the damage is done and the Yankees have scored seven consecutive runs.

Jazz Chisholm home run puts Yankees in front

The Yankees have now taken the lead after falling behind 6-1, with Jazz Chisholm hitting a go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the fifth off Louis Varland, who also gave up Judge's homer.

This is the Yankees' first lead of the American Leagu Division Series.

Aaron Judge home run ties it up

The Blue Jays brought in Louis Varland with one out and runners on first and second, and the right-hander promptly gave up a game-tying three run homer to Aaron Judge off the foul pole in left field.

The game is tied 6-6 entering the fifth inning.

Yankees get two back in the third: Blue Jays 6, Yankees 3

Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge hit doubles off Shane Bieber to start the bottom of the third, the latter bringing in a run. Cody Bellinger singled to move Judge to third, but the lead runner got caught in a rundown when Ben Rice hit a ground ball that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. threw home.

Rice managed to advance to third while Judge was in the rundown, allowing him to score on Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly – that traveled to the warning track in dead center field.

Bieber was replaced with two outs and the tying run at the plate and reliever Mason Fluharty got Amed Rosario to pop out in foul territory to end the inning.

Anthony Santander brings in two more, Blue Jays up 6-1

Anthony Santander hit an opposite-field two-run single in the top of the third to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 6-1 – and chased starter Carlos Rodon.

Toronto signed Santander to a $92 million deal last winter but it was a lost regular season for the outfielder, playing just 54 games due to injury.

Blue Jays adding on in the fourth

Carlos Rodon gave up a leadoff double to Davis Schneider then intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. With one out, Daulton Varsho hit a sinking line drive to left that Cody Bellinger was unable to secure on a sliding play, to bring in the first run and make it 3-1. The next batter, Ernie Clement, followed with his own RBI single between third and short that brought in Toronto's fourth run.

Giancarlo Stanton pulls one back for Yankees

Giancarlo Stanton's RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the first cut the Blue Jays' deficit in half, scoring Aaron Judge who had singled earlier in frame.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run... again

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer in the top of the first off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon, his third consecutive game in this series with a homer.

Facing elimination, the Yankees already find themselves in a hole.

What time is Yankees vs Blue Jays game today?

Tuesday's game is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET in New York

Blue Jays lineup today

1. George Springer (R) DH
2. Davis Schneider (R) LF
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
4. Alejandro Kirk (R) C
5. Daulton Varsho (L) CF
6. Ernie Clement (R) 3B
7. Anthony Santander (S) RF
8. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) 2B
9. Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Yankees lineup today

1. Trent Grisham (L) CF
2. Aaron Judge (R) RF
3. Cody Bellinger (L) LF
4. Ben Rice (L) 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
7. Ryan McMahon (L) 3B
8. Anthony Volpe (R) SS
9. Austin Wells (L) C

John Schneider's message for pundits who thought Yankees would cruise

“Don't have one. I think we're just focused on playing our game really. I think that we're confident when we're playing our game. It was a good weekend at home, we're treating this as if it's a 0-0 series. You can't take your foot off the gas.

"I think we do a really good job of kind of worrying about what is important to us, and that's kind of how we've done it all year. That's kind of how we've gotten here. It's a tight knit group. I think that they're just going to continue to worry about them.”

Yankees need Aaron Judge to deliver

Aaron Judge is 8-for-18 in the Yankees’ five postseason games in 2025, but with one extra-base hit – an eighth inning double in Toronto’s 13-7 Game 2 win.

Game-changing power is the Yankees’ signature trait, and they’ve got to find that threatening element right away – preferably right away Tuesday (they set an MLB record with 50 first-inning homers in 2025).

Because if the Yanks can’t recover in this ALDS, they’ll be haunted by the sixth inning of Game 1 all winter, just like the fifth inning of World Series Game 5 last winter. – Pete Caldera, NorthJersey.com

Aaron Boone on Yankees' mindset for Game 3

"The good thing here down the stretch is we've really latched onto this win today. Win today. We almost scratched our way back to win a division, and it was kind of that mindset and that mantra, the final month, six weeks is what happened yesterday. We talk about it in our advance and hitters meeting and things like that or things that come up.

"But it's like that's over with. We won another series, whatever, we didn't. It's like let's go win today. That's as simple as our focus is, and that's as small as I want us to keep it regardless of what happened. These guys have done a really good job with that, and whatever happens tonight, I expect they'll go out and do the same."

Blue Jays' good luck charm?

In the past two weeks, the Blue Jays have worn the same hats as the 1992 team, the year of the franchise’s first World Series, five times.

They haven’t lost yet, including the first two games of the ALDS, where they routed the New York Yankees in both games.

They will be sporting that retro cap look tonight as they look to advance to the ALCS with a Game 3 victory over their division rivals.

Yankees vs Blue Jays schedule for ALDS

Blue Jays lead series 2-0

• Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4 – Blue Jays 10, Yankees 1
• Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 5 – Blue Jays 13, Yankees 7
• Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 7 – Blue Jays at Yankees, 8:08 p.m. ET
• Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 8 (if necessary) – Blue Jays at Yankees, 7:08 p.m. ET
• Game 5: Friday, Oct. 10 (if necessary) – Yankees at Blue Jays, 8:08 p.m. ET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees stay alive with rousing comeback vs Blue Jays in ALDS Game 3: Highlights

Reporting by Scooby Axson and Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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