One Good, One Bad: Game 1 ALDS
- Andrew Hefner
- Oct 5
- 2 min read
by Andrew Hefner
October 5, 2025
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I definitely came into this series expecting it would be a competitive one. I knew the Yankees would not be back to a point where it would be a walk in the park for them to go out to Toronto, and then come home to win the ALDS. I did not, however, expect only one run of run support, a bullpen game by the 4th inning, and a blowout in Game 1.
With that being said, let's take a look at One Good and One Bad from Game 1 of the 2025 ALDS.
The Good
The Yankees set up an insane number of chances to score runs. Bases loaded, no outs, a man on second, no outs, leadoff hits, walks, and more. They were set up for success every time, yet just could not convert in the slightest.
Judge has been great so far at starting rallies and trying to get runs on the board, just has not been able to translate that success over to those high-leverage situations. Caballero has been where he has needed to be, stealing bases and such, but against Toronto, it really was a whole different ball game out there.
The Bad
I mentioned at the end of my last piece that the Yankees could not just survive on one big inning, especially against a team like the Blue Jays. New York’s only four runs in the final game of the Red Sox series all came in the fourth inning. I guess I was a bit harsh on them, though, because you also can not survive against the Blue Jays if you do not score runs at all.
1-7 with runners in scoring position coupled with seven runners left on base does not equal success. I will admit that there were some lucky moments for Toronto, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s early snag on a hard hiot ball, but a bases-loaded, no-out situation with only one run scored is an incredibly disappointing showing.
The pitching staff was obviously not helping the cause, but they held a one-run ballgame for so long, and I would have hoped for a more decisive conversion on some of those big chances.
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The ALDS continues today at 4:08 once again in Toronto with Max Fried on the mound for the Yankees. Rookie Trey Yesavage will make the start for Toronto, and tonight, more than ever, that run support will be pivotal to sealing a Yankees win on the road.
I agree, Andrew. I'd add only that they had yet a second opportunity with bases loaded, one out, one run in. That's two bites at getting the second run in, which would be the minimum one would expect them to do; indeed, one timely hit could have blown open the game. It was like a flashback to Yankee batting during Swoon period.