NEW YORK – The 2025 Yankees are gone sooner than they expected, undone by a team they never quite solved.
For all their late-season fight and the backs-against-the-wall drama of Aaron Judge’s unforgettable October moment a night earlier, they ran out of answers against the Blue Jays on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, falling short in a season-ending 5-2 loss in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.
Coming off the game of his life in the AL Wild Card clincher, rookie Cam Schlittler pitched well into the seventh inning, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. booted what could have been an inning-ending double play ball. The miscue proved costly when Nathan Lukes connected for a two-run single off Devin Williams, effectively putting New York’s season on ice.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer also drove in runs for the Blue Jays, who cycled through their pitching staff effectively in a bullpen game. Ryan McMahon’s solo third-inning homer tied the game at the time, but the Yanks were unable to generate anything more until Judge’s RBI single in the ninth.
These Yankees played some of their best baseball down the stretch, completing the regular season with eight consecutive victories and matching last year’s 94-win total in pursuit of a second straight AL East title.
But Toronto claimed the division crown via the head-to-head tiebreaker, forcing New York into the Wild Card Series and an early October gauntlet. The Yankees could only watch the Blue Jays celebrate, a foreboding glimpse of what was to come.
That Wild Card Series against the Red Sox delivered a brief, thrilling reprieve. Forced to play win-or-go-home games twice after dropping Game 1, the Yankees clawed back to life. They evened the series behind Chisholm’s daring dash around the bases in Game 2, then rode Schlittler’s right arm the next night. For a fleeting moment, the idea of another pennant run didn’t seem far-fetched.
But then came Toronto again. The Blue Jays pounced on the Yankees’ pitching early and often — Luis Gil and Max Fried both taking heavy damage — as Toronto piled up 23 runs across the first two contests. Judge’s unforgettable homer off the left-field foul pole sparked hope in Game 3, but with passports in hand, the Yanks couldn’t extend their season a second day.
So the Yankees have fallen short of their goal to return to the World Series following last year’s loss to the Dodgers. They instead join the growing list of powerful pinstriped rosters that fell short of the Canyon of Heroes, left to explain why the most decorated franchise in American sports hasn’t hoisted a trophy since 2009.
The 2025 Yankees believed until the end. But as the Blue Jays prepared to pop champagne in the visitors’ clubhouse, they were packing their bags once more, left to wonder how much longer this version of the team will have to chase the ultimate prize that continues to elude them.