Judge rallies Yankees past Blue Jays 9-6 to avert ALDS sweep

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a tying homer and drove in four runs during a clutch performance for the ages, and the New York Yankees staved off elimination by rallying from five runs down to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-6 on Tuesday night in Game 3 of their American League Division Series.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning and the Yankees took advantage of two errors by Toronto to score eight unanswered runs. They pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-five series, with Game 4 on Wednesday night in the Bronx.

Judge went 3-for-4 with an intentional walk and scored three times, also making critical plays with his glove and legs as fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” After struggling at the plate in previous post-seasons, he is 7-for-11 in this series (. 636) with five RBIs and three walks.

With the season on the line, New York starter Carlos Rodón gave up six runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings — but five Yankees relievers combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Tim Hill got four outs for the win, and David Bednar worked 1 2/3 innings for the save as New York improved to 3-0 in elimination games this post-season.

It was the Yankees’ largest comeback ever in an elimination game, and tied for its second-biggest in any post-season game.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an early two-run homer and Ernie Clement had four hits for the AL East champion Blue Jays, who squandered a golden opportunity to put away the Yankees as Toronto tries to reach its first American League Championship Series since 2016.

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