Aaron Judge evokes World Series horror with error as Yankees melt down vs Blue Jays

The New York Yankees got boat-raced in Game 1 of the ALDS in a 10-1 loss to the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. But that was against their ace Kevin Gausman while New York essentially went with their version of a bullpen game. Sunday would go much better with Game 2, right?

Not thus far! Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage has dog-walked the Yankees to the tune of four hitless innings and 10 strikeouts. The Yankees are down 4-0 after Ernie Clement hit a two-run homer off Max Fried in the second inning followed by an RBI groundout and RBI double in the third. And it doesn't feel like things are going to improve for New York unless somebody decides to take matters into their own hands.

Before Clement's homer, Daulton Varsho doubled down the right field line and Aaron Judge let the ball slip over his glove with an awkward play near the wall, further adding to the Yankees' embarassment in the postseason.

The vibes were right back where they needed to be after they defeated the Red Sox in the Wild Card round, but that really just felt like a warmup. The Yankees were still the standard distance from the World Series they're accustomed to.

But that uncompetitive Saturday loss followed by falling into an immediate hole on Sunday has fans back in the dumps. Nothing's changed, really. And Aaron Judge's postseason failures continue to stack up.

Care for a stat? That's Judge's second error in his last six postseason games. He has TWO total errors over the last four regular seasons. Remember that other one from a certain World Series game? Oh yes, possible the worst error in Yankees postseason history. Fun to think about that again when we are trying to exorcise 2024.

Though the error didn't change the Blue Jays' fortunes (it just gave Varsho an extra base), Saturday's helpess strikeout with the bases loaded and nobody out really felt like some sort of a dagger in this series. Judge flailed at a slider way outside the zone on a full count to let Gausman off the hook after he had lost the zone. The Yankees would only score one run after having the right-hander on the ropes. It just speaks to the larger problem with this team, led by Judge, being unable to capitalize on the most important October moments.

Going down 0-2 in the ALDS isn't the end of the world — the 2017 team came back from in against Cleveland. But that was a different roster with a different manager. This Yankees team lacks the fight of past championship contenders, and has been a common complaint among fans. The killer instinct isn't there — the organization simply relies on poor patterns to dissipate and good ones to appear out of thin air when the stage is the biggest.

The postseason version of Judge is the exact reason why that isn't a winning formula, and it doesn't help that the guys around him aren't picking him up.