THE BRONX — There was no Aaron Judge magic this time. No five-run comeback either.
It was quiet at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, and there was little for the home fans to cheer about.
The Toronto Blue Jays set the tone in Game 4 and didn't trail with a 5-2 victory that clinched the American League Division Series at four games and ended the season in New York.
Nathan Lux had a two-run single and eight Toronto relievers held the Yankees to six hits as the Blue Jays advanced to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2016.
“It's amazing,” said Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit .529 in the series. “I don't have words to explain how I feel right now.”
The first road win of the series prevented a decisive Game 5 at Rogers Center on Friday. Instead, the Blue Jays could rest before their first game at home on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners.
Addison Barger had three hits for Toronto, and Ernie Clement scored twice and had two hits, raising his series batting average to an eye-popping .643.
Seranthony Dominguez, Toronto's third hitter, had five strikeouts for the win, and Jeff Hoffman took the final four strikeouts for the save.
“We put the ball in play when we needed to and struck out guys when we needed to, and that's what you strive for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
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Judge had an RBI in the ninth inning for New York, and Ryan McMahon hit a solo homer in the third.
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“The ending is the worst, right?” said manager Aaron Boone, who led the Yankees to the pennant last year. “Especially when you know you have a really good group.”
Toronto scored 23 runs and picked up two wins at Rogers Center last weekend. New York responded by mounting a five-run comeback in Game 3—led by Judge's three-run homer—on Tuesday.
Louis Varland, who had given up two homers the night before, started the fourth game, followed by Mason Fluharty, Dominguez, Eric Lauer, Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher and finally Hoffman.
“Everyone else saw it as a bullpen day, but we saw it as a team day,” Schneider said in the locker room as champagne was poured on his head.
The Blue Jays advanced to their eighth ALCS in team history. Another ALDS is looking to go all out with the Mariners, who host the Tigers on Friday at T-Mobile Park.
As with the night before, “O Canada” was booed furiously by many of the sold-out crowd of 47,823.
The Blue Jays pounced on Yankees starter Cam Schlittler in the first inning, with all three hits narrowly missing the foul line.
George Springer led off with a double and scored on Guerrero's single. Only a good sliding catch by left fielder Cody Bellinger on a flash from Dalton Varsho kept Toronto from getting a big inning.
McMahon tied the game with his first career homer, but the Blue Jays retook the lead in the fifth.
Clement and Andres Jimenez hit back-to-back hits, driving runners into the corners. Springer hit Clement with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
In the seventh, the Blue Jays got a break when New York second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was handcuffed by a hard hit from Jimenez.
Clement advanced to third and Jimenez later advanced to second, with both runners on Luke's single off Devin Williams.
“I was thinking about seeing the heater, pressing the heater,” Lux said. “He gave it to me and I did it.”
The Yankees threatened in the bottom half of the field. While Judge was on deck, Little forced Trent Grisham to appear.
There was more tension in the eighth when Fisher gave up a two-out single and a walk before being relieved by Hoffman. Pinch-hitter Ben Rice walked to bring Austin Wells to the plate with the bases loaded.
Hoffman pulled him out to the outfield and Yankees fans began heading for the exits.
“I give credit to the Blue Jays and the year they had,” Boone said. “They beat us in this series, that's all.”
Some interesting decisions await the Blue Jays. Veteran starters Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer were left out of the ALDS lineup but could return in the ALCS.
And star player Bo Bichette has started hitting and running with ease, continuing his progress after spraining his left knee a month ago.
But decisions on the lineup will be postponed until the end of the week. For now, the Blue Jays will enjoy an accomplishment they've been working toward for nine years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
