Aaron Judge had his Yankees legacy moment in ALCS Game 3, until he didn't

CLEVELAND – Aaron Judge delivered his signature October moment that would have been repeated again and again throughout his career.

You can almost hear Michael introducing Kay Judge during his Monument Park celebration in a few years: “And who could forget his legendary game-winning two-run home run in Game 3 of the Yankees’ American League Championship Series victory over the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, which catapulted them to the brink of their first World Series berth since 2009?”

It was the moment everyone in the stadium had been waiting for on Thursday evening. Lil Wayne's 2005 hit “Fireman” blared from the Progressive Field speakers as the best closer in the world, Emmanuel Clase, stormed in from the bullpen. The Cleveland Guardians led 3-1 in the eighth inning with two outs, a runner on first base and the game's best hitter, Aaron Judge, stepping into the batter's box.

In a recent podcast, Guardians catcher Austin Hedges boldly claimed that Clase was the best pitcher in MLB history. “He’s better than Mariano (Rivera),” Hedges explained. “If you need three outs, he’s the best pitcher ever to get them.”

Clase began the showdown against Judge with a 98.7 mph cutter that missed its target. Hedges had called for the pitch to be inside, in Judge's hands, but it went past the middle of the plate. The judge narrowly missed it and messed it up behind him. Then he swung over a perfectly placed cutter on the black at the bottom of the strike zone and fell behind, 2-0, to a pitcher Hedges considered the greatest to ever step on a mound.

With the score at 0-2, Clase tried to get Judge to chase a cutter off the plate, but Judge didn't bite. These two outside cutters were crucial and set the stage for what would happen next.

Clase delivered another cutter to the outside edge, and this time Judge beat him to it. He didn't miss it. Judge claimed he was just trying to hit a single into right field to put Giancarlo Stanton ahead with two runners on base, but the ball kept going.

In the postseason, Judge has spoken about the ghosts of Yankees greats who seem to be on their side. His home run landed in the same spot where Sandy Alomar Jr. hit his game-winning home run against Rivera in Game 4 of the 1997 American League Division Series. Twenty-seven years later, Mariano's spirit was a measure of retribution for those who doubted his legacy as the greatest of all time.

As Judge's ball flew through the Cleveland sky, the entire Yankees' dugout fell over the railing. The judge didn't enjoy the moment; According to Statcast, it was the second-fastest home-to-home velocity of his career (only his home run against José Berríos in the 2017 Wild Card Game was faster).

Judge's home run against Clase seemed unlikely. He had allowed just five runs during the regular season and was by far the most unhittable pitcher in the game. Guardians designated hitter David Fry noted after the game that when Clase comes in, the Guardians dugout often feels like they can't watch anymore because they are convinced the game is already decided.

“So we were obviously shaken,” Fry said of Judge’s home run.

“Obviously that guy over there is going to be the MVP,” Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd said. “He took one of the guys who will be there for Cy Young in a great spot.”

On the next at-bat, Stanton delivered the go-ahead home run against Clase, a stunning move that suddenly put the Yankees six outs away from a 3-0 lead in the ALCS. A 3-0 lead over the Guardians would have been insurmountable; They don't have the talent that the 2004 Boston Red Sox had.

But the Yankees didn't take advantage of back-to-back home runs by Judge and Stanton. By the ninth inning, the Guardians had scored their last hit and were faced with the reality that their season was on life support. Yankees closer Luke Weaver, who did his best Rivera impersonation last month, allowed a two-out double to Lane Thomas. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt sent pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel to play against Weaver. On the second pitch he saw, Weaver hung a changeup over center of the plate that Noel, aptly named “Big Christmas,” sent on a sleigh ride 404 feet over the left field wall to clinch the game.

“It hurts a little more knowing how hard they worked to get the game to where it is,” Weaver said of Judge and Stanton. “It hurts even more knowing I was just a rope’s throw away. Everything stinks. It hurts even more knowing how close we were and how big a 3-0 (lead) would be.”

With the game in extra innings, the Yankees were unable to get through to the bottom of the 10th inning. Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Clay Holmes for the bottom half of the inning. Holmes began his postseason career with a streak of 14 2/3 straight scoreless innings. The only pitcher with a longer streak was, of course, Rivera with 16 scoreless innings.

Holmes' scoreless streak snapped after 15 1/3 innings after he gave up a sinker in the zone to Fry, who hit a two-run walk-off home run for the Guardians, who trail 2-1 in the best-of-playoff . seven series. The Yankees face the task of quickly overcoming a heartbreaking loss, knowing how close they came to preparing for a possible win.

“A loss is a loss, whether it’s a clean loss or we lost 3-1 or something like that,” Stanton said. “This one obviously hurts a little more, but at the end of the day an 'L' is an 'L' at one, two, eight, whatever. Tomorrow is a new day. We have to do it.”

The Yankees will start rookie Luis Gil in Game 4. Gil hasn't started since September 28th and has struggled with command issues all season. His opponent, Gavin Williams, hasn't pitched since September 22nd. One advantage the Guardians may have heading into Game 4 is that all of their best bullpen arms didn't throw many pitches on Thursday night and should be available. For the Yankees, Tommy Kahnle threw 26 pitches and Weaver threw 20. Meanwhile, Holmes has to figure out how to bounce back after a disastrous performance.

Judge was one of Holmes' biggest supporters in the clubhouse when the backup was going through his struggles during the regular season, consistently telling reporters that he was the right choice to be the team's closer. And Holmes is one of the main reasons why Judge's home run is now a footnote.

(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)