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Rival Watch: Blue Jays earn respect with ALDS victory over Yankees fasterkora.xyz

MLB News

09/10/2025

The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays simply refuse to go unnoticed, and that theme continued in their four-game American League Division Series win over the New York Yankees.

Even after a 94-win regular season that earned them the AL’s top seed and their first division title in a decade, the Blue Jays still entered October facing questions about whether their game would translate to the sport’s biggest stage.

But after Wednesday’s Game 4 win at Yankee Stadium, Toronto made clear to the baseball world it’s playing for keeps this October.

The Blue Jays overwhelmed the Yankees with their depth and contact-heavy lineup in the series, as 11 players recorded multiple hits in the four-game series and manager John Schneider called upon eight relievers to cover all 27 outs in Wednesday night’s clincher.

The fashion in which they dispatched this year’s Bronx Bombers squad, one Yankees manager Aaron Boone claimed was the “best group” he’s had entering the playoffs, seemed to change minds about what this Blue Jays group may be capable of.

So, with Toronto returning home to wait for its ALCS opponent, here is a look at what some American MLB analysts said about the Blue Jays after they became the first team in baseball to move past the division series.

Fox Sports MLB — Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter discuss Blue Jays’ series win

Starting with Fox’s MLB panel, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter were among the most complimentary of this Blue Jays team in the immediate aftermath of Game 4. Jeter, a Hall of Fame shortstop with the Yankees, even issued an apology to the Toronto team for not being familiar with its style of play.

“I have to apologize because I didn’t realize how good the Toronto Blue Jays were. As a team, collectively, this team is pretty impressive.

“Obviously, I didn’t get a chance to watch them on a daily basis. But now, seeing them over this series, every day, pitch by pitch, at-bat by at-bat, they’re as good as any team in baseball.

“Now, there may be teams that have bigger names, right? Vladdy is excluded from that. Sure, there may be teams with bigger names all around, but in terms of playing the game (inaudible), not too many people are better, not too many teams.”

“I love their chances, and look, this is a big win for them. I was really curious after they got punched in the gut (Tuesday) night, a heartbreaking loss, with a bullpen game, as well as the young man (Cam Schlittler) was pitching.

“I wanted to see how they reacted, and not only did they react, they came back with (Louis Varland), who gave up the home run to Judge, and they scored early.

“And guess who set the tone? (George) Springer and Vlad. Leadership, and then everyone followed. I love their chances, and they’re very tough to beat at home, and they have home-field advantage.”

As Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Aaron Judge traded superstar performances in the series, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo pointed to Toronto’s depth as a separating factor in the series.

He specifically shone a light on some of the Blue Jays hitters who emerged as key supporting characters this post-season.

“The Blue Jays collected 12 more hits to finish with 50 in the series and outscored New York 34-19 to reach the ALCS for the first time since 2016. The 34 runs were the fourth-most runs ever scored in a team’s first four postseason games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led the way, going 9-for-17 with three home runs and nine RBIs, to counter Judge, who went 13-for-26 in the postseason to become the sixth player all-time to hit at least .500 in a single postseason.

“The difference was in the supporting casts. Toronto utilityman Ernie Clement recorded three straight multi-hit games to finish 9-for-14 in the series. Center fielder Daulton Varsho went 7-for-16. Catcher Alejandro Kirk whacked two home runs. In Game 4, Addison Barger knocked three hits. Nathan Lukes added two, including a backbreaking two-run single to increase Toronto’s lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning. And Myles Straw came off the bench to drive in the final run with a single in the eighth. As a team, the Blue Jays batted .338 with a .974 OPS in the series.

“‘They didn’t miss and they scored, it felt like, every time they had a guy in scoring position,’ Yankees catcher Austin Wells said. ‘They did whatever they could to put the ball in play. And they were ready. They were on it from the first at-bat. It was impressive.'”

As Joel Sherman sorted through the rubble of the latest early exit in New York, he also gave Clement his flowers for an excellent showing in the series. He went on to add that Toronto’s relentless offence just may have put too much pressure on the Yankees’ wobbly defence that hadn’t shown up at any big moments in these playoffs until the seventh inning on Wednesday.

“The Yankees were eliminated Wednesday night in division series Game 4. The Blue Jays won behind their offensive style — relentlessly putting the ball in play against a sturdy Cam Schlittler. The Yankees lost without delivering enough of what they do best — putting the ball over a fence. Ryan McMahon hit a third-inning homer to provide the Yankees their lone run until Aaron Judge doubled home a cosmetic run with two outs in the ninth.

“The highest-scoring team in the regular season was ousted again when its offensive formula did not rule October. An overmatched Anthony Volpe, a regressed Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. combined for nine hits in this series — or the same number as the pesky Ernie Clement, who symbolizes Toronto’s tenaciousness mode. The Blue Jays force you to keep playing the ball, which the Yankees did remarkably well — until they didn’t. Until Chisholm made a seventh-inning error on what should have been an inning-ending double play that would have gotten Schlittler through the frame and kept Toronto’s lead at 2-1.

“Instead, two unearned runs would eventually score and the door to a cold Yankees winter was again being walked through.“

YES Network post-game — Michael Kay credits Blue Jays’ bullpen, offence for Game 4 win

It’s no secret that Michael Kay made headlines north of the border this season for some of his controversial comments in July as Toronto passed New York in the standings.

But in his assessment of the Game 4 loss, Kay took aim at the Yankees’ inability to step up on either side of the ball, while giving credit to the Blue Jays’ bats and bullpen for making a difference on Wednesday.

“Kind of a microcosm of the whole season. Ups, downs. You can’t be more up than yesterday, with Judge’s home run and the comeback from 6-1. And then the down, the down is today, like when they were 20-31 in the middle of the season.

“They just didn’t get big hits. They didn’t make plays in the field — Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a huge E4 that would have been an inning-ending double play ...

“Schlittler was great. He was. Was he as dominant as he was against the Red Sox? No, because the Blue Jays are a better team than the Red Sox. They’re a better offence than the Red Sox.

“But it was the Blue Jays’ pitching that did in the Yankees. The Yankees hit that bullpen on Sunday, they hit it on Tuesday, and they didn’t touch it today. Disappointing loss.”

The tabloids — How the back pages in New York are handling the Yankees’ loss