It finally happened. In his 51st career postseason game, New York Yankees slugger and presumptive AL MVP Aaron Judge had his signature moment. After falling behind in the count 0-2 against Cleveland Guardians all-world closer Emmanuel Clase, Judge launched a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS on Thursday.
"I was just trying for a little single to right with (Giancarlo) Stanton behind me," Judge said after the game (via the Associated Press). "Off the bat, I thought it was going to go off the wall. My first thought was just to get to second base."
Judge's home run was the first extra-base hit Clase allowed this year (regular season included) after getting ahead in the count 0-2. Stanton followed with a solo homer -- also after an 0-2 count -- to make it back-to-back homers and give New York a 4-3 lead in Game 3. New York's stars came through in the clutch and Clase's rough October continued.
Rather than ride the back-to-back homers to a Game 3 win and a 3-0 series lead, the Yankees' bullpen wilted, as Luke Weaver gave up Jhonkensy Noel's game-tying homer in the ninth and Clay Holmes gave up David Fry's walk-off homer in the tenth (CLE 7, NY 5). Judge's clutch homer, what should have been his signature postseason moment, was rendered moot.
"It's baseball. Stuff like that happens," Judge said following the Game 3 loss (via the Associated Press). "Everyone in this room has faith in those guys."
The Yankees are still in a good position. They have a 2-1 lead in the ALCS and, historically, teams with a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 70% of the time. Judge has gone deep in back-to-back games and is getting locked in. Stanton continued his great postseason work. Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, and Anthony Volpe all have .400 in-base percentages in October.
As crushing a loss as Game 3 was -- "It feels a little devastating," Weaver said (via the Associated Press) -- the Yankees only need to play .500 ball the rest of the ALCS to win the pennant. Two wins in four games get them there. They will have to shake off that Game 3 loss, though, and they especially need their bullpen to pick itself up off the mat and be ready in Game 4 on Friday.
Weaver and Holmes have worked a lot this October -- they've pitched in every postseason game -- and fatigue could be setting in. Weaver took the pitch clock down to the final second on all 20 pitches in Game 3. He and Holmes have also pitched three times in the last four days. The Yankees rarely use their relievers four times in five days, but may have no choice in Game 4.
Furthermore, No. 3 bullpen option Tommy Kahnle threw 1 2/3 innings and 26 pitches in Game 3, so he will be coming off a larger-than-usual workload going into Game 4. Even if fatigue is not an issue, there's still the matter of turning the page, shaking off those series-changing home runs, and getting back on the horse Friday. All relievers must do it, but some are better at it than others.
"It all stinks," Weaver said (via the New York Daily News). "It hurts more knowing how close we were and how big a 3-0 (lead) would be. But that's life. I've been through plenty of failure to know that it's not always how we want it to be. But I know my teammates got my back, and I know we're going to come out swinging and we're going to come out firing on the mound."
The Yankees are hurt right now by a lack of bullpen depth, something they failed to address at the trade deadline. They tried, but deadline pickups Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos were awful down the stretch (24 runs in 28 innings combined), so much so that De Los Santos was waived on Aug. 14. Leiter did not make New York's ALDS or ALCS rosters.
Righty Ian Hamilton, at times the No. 4 option in the bullpen, tweaked his left calf covering first base in the sixth inning in Game 3, and will have an MRI Thursday. If he has to come off the roster, it is likely Leiter will be added, and the Yankees would be down one of their more trustworthy relievers at a time when their go-to guys have taken on an enormous workload.
That is postseason baseball, though. No one is fresh or 100% physically this time of year -- Cleveland's bullpen has certainly worked very hard as well in October. They must find ways to get outs and turn the page on their failures. Weaver, Holmes, and the rest of New York's relief crew must do that in Game 4 on Friday to avoid letting another Judge signature moment become a footnote.
"This is what we've been great at all year and what that room has been great at all year. We've had some tough losses that we've bounced back from," manager Aaron Boone said after Game 3. "That stings when you get left there like that, especially after you battle back against them like that. So you sit in it for a minute, but we'll be ready to roll tomorrow."
