Jays Watch: Judge gives Yankees new life with Game 3 heroics

Welcome to Jays Watch, where we'll have you covered throughout the ALDS between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Here are our takeaways from the Yankees' 9-6 win in Tuesday's Game 3.

'He's the real deal'

The clinching game is always the hardest.

The Yankees looked toast. Facing elimination and trailing 6-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning, you could hear the discontent ringing throughout the Bronx.

But New York's best player provided a lifeline. Aaron Judge made it 6-2 with an RBI double in the third and followed that up an inning later with one of the biggest swings of his postseason career.

Judge hammered a game-tying, three-run home run off Louis Varland that clanked off the left-field foul pole. Judge joked postgame that maybe some of the ghosts from Monument Park kept it fair.

The 99.7-mph pitch was the fastest Judge has hit for a homer in his career, according to Sportsnet Stats, and moved him into a tie with Hall of Famer David Ortiz for the most postseason home runs when facing elimination (6), according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.

"Just trying to do my job," Judge said postgame. "What I've been trying to do all year."

Judge has taken plenty of heat for his postseason resume, but he's the biggest reason this series is going to Game 4.

"He's the real deal," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "As beloved a player as I've ever been around - by his teammates. They all admire him, look up to him, respect him, want his approval. And that's just a credit to who Aaron is and how he goes about things."

Judge is 7-for-11 with three extra-base hits and a team-leading five RBIs through three games.

"It was best-player-in-the-game-type performance," Boone said.

New York is 3-0 when facing elimination this postseason.

'Gotta take care of the ball'

The Blue Jays' calling card all season has been strong defense, so it was certainly uncharacteristic to see them commit multiple errors at critical points in the game.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa's error in the first inning led to the Yankees' first run and forced Shane Bieber to throw 11 more pitches. Addison Barger's two-base error in the fourth inning was the big blow though. A pop-up bounced off his glove, and Judge homered two batters later to make it 6-6.

Things kept unraveling from there. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. couldn't knock down a ball hit under his glove, resulting in New York's eighth run. It wasn't ruled an error, but it's one Guerrero should have at least kept in front of him. An inning later, Anthony Santander made a poor diving attempt on a ball that should've been caught. That misplay opened the door for the Yankees' ninth run.

"We kinda didn't play our game really when you look at things as a whole," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "Defensively, you give them extra outs and they can (score runs) in a hurry. It's not one thing, it's a couple things."

In a season - and series - in which the Blue Jays have looked so confident defensively, it was jarring to see how disconnected they were across the diamond.

Toronto struck out 11 times in Game 3 after entering the night having struck out seven times over the previous two games.

Game 3 was the first time this season the Blue Jays lost when holding a five-run lead. Toronto was 39-0 in those games.

"It happens," Schneider said of the defensive miscues. "It just gets magnified this time of year. You gotta take care of the ball. Was it frustrating? Yeah. It's frustrating today, but you gotta come to work tomorrow, get prepared. Physical errors happen. You gotta move on."

'An awesome team win'

The Yankees continue to get nothing from their starting pitchers, as Carlos Rodón allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings. Rodón, Luis Gil, and Max Fried have combined to surrender 15 runs over eight innings this series.

Credit to Boone for being aggressive with his bullpen early Tuesday to keep things close and allow the offense to, at least temporarily, save the season. Fernando Cruz and Camilo Doval were the first two arms out of the bullpen and gave the Yankees 2 1/3 shutout innings while their bats tied the game.

New York's relievers threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the win.

"Just an awesome team win," Boone said. "So many guys playing an important role in some shape or form."

Cam Schlittler will get the ball in Game 4 coming off his historic outing. The 24-year-old tossed eight shutout innings and struck out 12 in the wild-card series clinching game against the Boston Red Sox.

Schlittler faced Toronto twice this season, surrendering six runs in 6 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs over five innings in July but was shelled for four runs over 1 2/3 innings in September when he believed he was tipping pitches.

'We have to flush it'

The Blue Jays picked up Bieber for games like this. Unfortunately, the right-hander didn't deliver.

Bieber was spotted a 6-1 lead but couldn't make it out of the third inning. He surrendered three runs (two earned) off five hits and a walk, struck out two, and generated only five whiffs on 36 strikes. Bieber allowed eight balls hit over 100 mph.

With two on and two out in the third inning, Schneider went to Mason Fluharty. The left-hander got pinch hitter Amed Rosario to pop out, ending the threat.

"It's a tough decision obviously," Schneider said. "I thought he was throwing the ball fairly well. I thought his secondary stuff was really good in the second inning. Then (he) just looked like he was having a little bit of trouble missing bats."

Taking Bieber out after only 54 pitches was aggressive, especially with a bullpen game looming, but it was the right call given how Bieber's stuff looked.

"I get how it looks with the bullpen game tomorrow and all that kind of stuff," Schneider said. "Man, these guys are going to be ready to go."

Bieber's been solid for the Jays since joining them at the trade deadline, posting a 3.57 ERA over 40 1/3 innings across the final two months of the regular season. There will be questions of how much he'll have in the tank the rest of the way coming off Tommy John surgery. Was Game 3 a blip or a sign that he's hitting a wall?

"It would have been great to sweep, but I don't think many people would have expected that," Bieber said postgame. "We have to flush it and focus on tomorrow."

He added: "I'm very excited to see how we bounce back."

'You're trying to take chances to win today'

Bieber's struggles put the Blue Jays in a precarious position.

Toronto used six relievers in Game 3 ahead of a bullpen game Wednesday.

"You're trying to take chances to win today, and it didn't work out," Schneider said. "Everyone's available tomorrow, just not exactly sure who is going to start yet."

Arguably the most concerning development was Varland surrendering a pair of home runs, including the blast to Judge and a solo shot to Jazz Chisholm Jr. Varland's pitched in all three games this series and will serve as the opener in Game 4. He's given up three homers in six career plate appearances against Judge, who he'll face in the first inning Wednesday.

The Blue Jays' bullpen has surrendered 13 runs (12 earned) over 12 1/3 innings this series, with Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Justin Bruihl, Tommy Nance, Braydon Fisher, and Brendon Little all giving up at least one.

The silver lining for Toronto is that its two highest-leverage arms, Jeff Hoffman and Seranthony Dominguez, have yet to allow a run and didn't pitch in the loss.

'Unbelievable, this guy'

Guerrero continues to put his stamp on the series, with a two-run homer in the first inning followed by an incredible Superman slide home during the third inning to score the fourth run of the game.

Guerrero's been incredible this postseason. He's the first player in franchise history to homer in three straight games and is 8-for-13 with a series-leading eight RBIs and no strikeouts.

"(Judge) and Vlad are taking their game to a different level," Schneider said. "You can look at those two guys as really rising to the occasion."

The latest home run is Guerrero's 17th in 49 career games at Yankee Stadium - the most he's hit in any venue besides Rogers Centre.