Blue Jays blow five-run lead in 9-6 loss to Yankees in Game 3 of AL Division Series

BRONX – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his moment in Toronto. Aaron Judge answered Tuesday night in New York. 

The normally taut Blue Jays defence had holes in Game 3 and the pitching wasn’t much better. 

The Yankees took full advantage — powered by a three-run homer by Judge — in a 9-6 victory to prevent a three-game sweep of the American League Division Series.

The Blue Jays are still in control but will need to be better in Game 4 on Wednesday to avoid a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday at Rogers Centre.

“Walks and errors will kill you against this team,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “So I think that was the tipping point a little bit.”

With five days off between games last week, it can be easy to forget Toronto hadn’t lost a game since Sept. 24. Four wins to close the season were followed by a 10-1 rout of the Yankees in Game 1 and a 13-7 victory — highlighted by a Guerrero grand slam — in Game 2 at Toronto.

With the series shifting to Yankee Stadium, the sellout crowd in the baseball-mad city was vocal from the start. “O Canada” was loudly booed before the game and a two-run homer from Guerrero in the opening frame only unsettled the crowd of 47,399 even more.

Guerrero scored again in Toronto’s four-run third inning, hustling around third base on an Ernie Clement single and delivering a Superman-like slide to beat the throw home.

A two-run single by Anthony Santander made it 6-1, forced starter Carlos Rodon’s exit, and kicked off “Let’s Go Blue Jays” chants by the Toronto faithful seated near the road dugout.

The Yankees, to their credit, chipped away and converted their opportunities.

Second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s booted grounder led to an unearned run for New York in the first. Toronto starter Shane Bieber was ineffective at times and was pulled in New York’s two-run third.

The game turned in the fourth inning shortly after Addison Barger misplayed a fly ball by Austin Wells for a two-base error.

“It kind of just started tailing towards the stands a little bit, which is kind of weird for a left-handed fly ball,” Barger said. “Usually they would come back towards the line at the end.

“So I took off the other way and tried to get to it and hit it off the tip of my glove.”

Louis Varland walked Trent Grisham to set the stage for Judge, who hit a mammoth no-doubt blast that hit high on the foul pole in left field to tie the game at six.

“He made a really good pitch look really bad,” Varland said.

Yankee Stadium felt like it was shaking as the superstar slugger trotted around the bases with the crowd chanting “M-V-P” along the way.

“I’m just up there trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, and it looked good to me,” Judge said.

A Jazz Chisholm Jr. solo shot gave New York a lead for the first time in the series and the Yankees never looked back. 

“Just an awesome team win,” said New York manager Aaron Boone. “So many guys playing an important role in some way, shape, or form makes it a lot of fun.”

It was the Yankees’ largest comeback win in a playoff game since they overcame a five-run deficit in Game 1 of the 2010 AL Championship Series against the Texas Rangers.

“It just goes to show if you let your foot off the gas for even a second, a good team will pounce on you and make stuff happen,” said Clement.

Fighting back from a 6-1 deficit with eight unanswered runs has swung the momentum in this meeting of East Division rivals. 

Making matters more difficult is the Blue Jays were expected to go with a bullpen day in Game 4. Varland will start and pitch as long as he’s effective.

“These guys will be ready to go,” Schneider said. “It’s really comforting for me to see them do that all year. I know they’re going to do it again tomorrow.”

The Blue Jays are looking for their first series victory since 2016 when they reached the AL Championship Series for a second straight year. 

The Yankees won the pennant last year before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.