play

Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge takes BP during workout day prior to ALDS opener at Toronto

Yankees players worked out Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, on the eve of the best-of-five AL Division Series against the Blue Jays, beginning at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

TORONTO – Even with its roof open, allowing for glorious sunshine at Rogers Centre, the place can get dark and forbidding to these Yankees.

To defeat the Blue Jays in a best-of-five Division Series, the Yankees must win at least once at this downtown madhouse by Lake Ontario – a tougher task in October.

Now would be a good time for Luke Weaver to stop tipping pitches, and for Aaron Judge to start threatening fences before it gets to a win-or-else Game 5 here.

Because at that point, the Yankees’ might require a massive all-hands bullpen effort to advance another round in this 2025 MLB tournament…

OK, we’re jumping ahead a bit, though the Yanks’ Max Fried will be pitching with a lot on the line in Sunday’s Game 2, after Saturday afternoon’s 10-1 Blue Jays win.

“They’re a tough team, regardless of the ballpark,’’ Anthony Volpe said of the Blue Jays, who’ve now won seven of eight here against the Yankees this year.

Yankees’ inability to break through

It’s not just that late-day bedlam began as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk crushed homers in the first two innings, contributing to starter Luis Gil’s third-inning exit.  

There’s always a just-around-the-corner fear that the Blue Jays will pull the artificial rug out from the Yankees, as happened in Saturday’s sixth inning.

Down 2-0, the Yanks loaded the bases with none out but settled for one run.

“That kind of seemed like the game, right?’’ said Cody Bellinger, who forced in a run with a walk.

Starter Kevin Gausman struck out Judge swinging on a full-count splitter and popped up Ben Rice, and reliever Louis Varland fanned Giancarlo Stanton on a 101-mph heater, stranding three runners.

And that 2-1 game quickly became 6-1 in the seventh, with Weaver still yet to retire any of the six batters he’s faced this postseason.

“I don’t really feel like myself, don’t feel my mind is completely cleared to go out and attack,’’ said the brutally honest Weaver, lending a clue to his crisis.

Within the last month, Weaver has been alerted to his tipping of certain pitches – with two hits coming off changeups Saturday.

Luke Weaver’s pitching dilemma

“It’s pretty late in the adjustment period and it’s just not lining up out there,’’ said Weaver, whose troubles might alter the bullpen’s postseason pecking order.

Camilo Doval tossed two drama-free scoreless innings after Tim Hill’s four outs, while Fernando Cruz allowed all three of Weaver’s inherited runners – plus one of his own – to score in the seventh.

There’s always some spy intrigue associated with Yanks-Jays affairs and in postseason “there’s more eyeballs on you,” said Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake.

At issue is how much you want a pitcher trained on the subtle art of concealing pitches versus “allowing them to attack hitters’’ free and clear of that extra clutter?

“That’s the line you’re trying to avoid, basically putting too much on their plate,’’ said Blake.

Weaver feels he’s “close’’ to a fix and “competitive’’ with his pitches. “I don’t feel like I’m getting hit hard,’’ but Saturday’s leadoff walk also suggests he’s not the 2024 version.

Against a patient, dangerous and contact-minded Toronto lineup, even without Bo Bichette (knee) to lengthen it, any Yankee pitching glitch is potentially lethal to their pennant hopes.

“He’s a big part of this team…helped us get to this point in the season,’’ said Judge, who had a postgame chat with Weaver.

“He’s one of the guys I want running out of the bullpen in a big situation.’’

Judge had two more hits Saturday, 6-for-15 with a double in this postseason, where the captain’s need for a big October is an ever-present reality.

“We had an opportunity,’’ Judge said of that missed bases-loaded chance. “In the end, I didn’t get the job done. That’s what it comes down to.’’

It’s on to a Game 2, with Fried vs. rookie Trey Yesavage (author of three MLB starts), and it feels kind of critical for the visitors.