Up 5 runs, Toronto Blue Jays let AL Division Series sweep of New York Yankees slip out of their gloves – Chicago Tribune

NEW YORK — Within five runs, the Toronto Blue Jays were headed to a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees and their first trip to the AL Championship Series in nine years.

And then it slipped off their gloves.

A pair of errors by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Addison Barger revived the Yankees, who then hit home runs by Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. off Louis Varland for a 9-6 victory Tuesday night.

“Sloppy brand of baseball,” Kiner-Falefa said.

Instead of preparing to host Seattle or Detroit at Rogers Center this weekend, the Blue Jays’ lead in the best-of-five series was cut to 2-1 heading into Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.

“You’re talking about giving extra outs to a really good team.” » said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “Goals and mistakes will kill you against this team.”

Varland gave up a home run to Judge while making his major league debut for Minnesota on September 7, 2022. This one was a three-run drive that tied the score 6-6 in the fourth.

Judge’s homer was the first on a pitch 99 mph or faster 1.2 feet inside the center of the strike zone since tracking of the pitch began in 2008, according to MLB Statcast.

“He made a really good pitch look really bad,” said Varland, who will start Game 4 as an opener.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer in the first inning against Carlos Rodón and is hitting .693 (8-for-13) with three homers and eight RBIs in the series. The Blue Jays lost after leading by five points for the first time since September 3, 2024, against Philadelphia, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Flush it tonight. That’s all you can do, bounce back tomorrow and win a series,” said Toronto starter Shane Bieber, who lasted only 2 2/3 innings.

Kiner-Falefa, the 2020 Gold Glove winner at third, allowed Ben Rice’s two-out grounder in the bottom of the first to kick off the heel of his glove. The ball bounced off his chest and fell to the dirt, and Kiner-Falefa inadvertently hit it as Rice reached for it. Giancarlo Stanton followed with an RBI single that cut the lead in half.

“Big mistake on my part here,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It just took a high jump. I was expecting a ball with a lower swing. I felt like I did a good job of knocking it down, but I just wasn’t able to stop the spin on the ground.”

With the Blue Jays leading 6-3 in the fourth, one out and no one, Austin Wells threw a pop to left. Third baseman Barger, who had entered as a pinch hitter at third, set up under the ball in left court only to have the wind blow the ball toward the seats. The ball hit his glove and bounced into foul territory as Wells reached second.