If one thing is certain, the superstars showed up in the ALDS.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Aaron Judge are both equipped with enormous moments during the division series between the Yankees and Blue Jays, as well as continued dominance throughout the postseason.
“It’s good for baseball,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I said it last night, they’re performing on a big stage. I think it’s cool for the sport to see that, to see some big-name guys doing that. More importantly, I think you can’t get caught up in that too much.
“I think we’ve talked about nine-on-one. We’ve talked about 13 guys contributing every single day. So I think the minute that you feel like you have to do it all yourself is when things start to go the wrong way. But it’s been kind of as advertised with those two guys, what they’ve done — what Vlad’s done against them and what Aaron’s done against us. I think it’s a guy you’re aware of for sure on both sides.”
Judge’s three-run game-tying blast in Tuesday night’s Game 3 kept the Yankees’ season alive, while Guerrero’s grand slam in Game 2 kept the Blue Jays in the driver’s seat.
Guerrero Jr. continued his career dominance against the Bombers, entering Game 4 on Wednesday. The 26-year-old went 8-for-13 (.615) with three homers and 8 RBI through the first three games of the ALDS — adding onto his Yankee Killer resume as he owns a .918 OPS in 102 career regular season games against the pinstripers.
“I mean, you’re going to come across great players in the postseason,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “That’s the reality of it. You’ve got to be able to navigate it. Obviously, Vlad, who’s hurt us over the years in the regular season, is off to a great start these first few games. We did get him out two times in a row, which was nice, to end [Game 3].
“Look, he’s one of the great hitters in the game and someone that we’ve got to make sure we execute at the highest level if we’re going to have success against him. But that’s the nature of the beast in the postseason. You’re going to go up against great players. You’re going to go up against hot players that are locked in and kind of feeling it. You’ve got to be able to navigate it to keep moving.”
Judge, however, is making his usual regular-season presence felt for the first time in his postseason career. The 33-year-old entered this October with a .768 OPS in postseason play — a jarring drop off from his career 1.028 OPS in the regular season. The captain went 7-for-11 (.636) with a homer and five RBI in the first three games of the ALDS.
Judge has also been a bit of a Blue Jay killer — granted, he crushed virtually every opponent during the regular season — as he posted a 1.118 OPS in 13 games against their division rival this season.
The lights are not too bright for the faces of either AL East franchise.
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