One Good, One Bad: Game 3 ALDS
- Andrew Hefner
- Oct 8
- 2 min read
by Andrew Hefner
October 8, 2025
***
At around 8:45 last night, I was already set on trying to figure out how I could best sum up the season for the article I had to write. Down in the dumps, and already being down four and with a shaky bullpen, no offense, and a quiet stadium, I could not have possibly imagined what would ensue.
I can not be happier that I had to rewrite most of this article, and that I will have at least one more day of writing “One good, One Bad” in my future.
Last night was a roller coaster, so let's take a look at one good and one bad from Game 3 of the 2025 ALDS.
The Good
Playoff Aaron Judge is just as good as regular-season Aaron Judge. He has proved the haters wrong in the best way possible, and being on base after every at-bat but one is truly one of the best quality games a leader of a team like the Yankees can have.
For Judge, he has now had the most hits in a single postseason in his career, and he still has time to continue. The home run he hit will be one of the most famous in Yankees history if this series continues, and it is the spark that the Yankees (and their fans) need to survive this Blue Jays series.
If Judge continues to play like the MVP player that he is, the Yankees will have no problem completing the comeback against Toronto every time.
The Bad
The starting pitching of this series has been an absolute mess so far. Carlos Rodon was meant to be the stopgap in that pattern, and yet he was still out by the bottom of the third inning. If the series continues, the bullpen budget will be absolutely key to the success of the Yankees, so not getting many quality innings out of the starters is a real problem.
Luckily for the Yankees, as the FOX broadcast felt the need to make abundantly clear every chance they could, rookie phenom Cam Schlittler will take the mound in the boogey-down tomorrow night. Schlittler is coming off an eight-inning, 12-strikeout performance to shut down the Red Sox late last week, and is no doubt the pitcher that the Yankees want in this situation.
The Blue Jays will be in a bind tomorrow with no starting pitcher fully rested and much of the bullpen being used up last night. The Yankees have a real chance to tie the series once again; it just depends on whether they will be able to take advantage.
First pitch tonight is at 8:08 PM with Cam Schlittler taking the mound for the Yankees on FOX.
First pitch tonight is at 8:08 PM with Cam Schlittler taking the mound for the Yankees on FOX.
I believe it to be scheduled for 7
Technically speaking, Judge was not on base after two of his at-bats last night. 😁
Jeter's Flip in the 7th inning of Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS (Yanks up 1-0 on a Posada HR, one of only two hits they got that night) saved the game and the series after the Yankees lost the first two to the A's in New York. Judge's Pole Doink* has the potential to do the same, but just like 24 years ago, I'm not going to count unhatched chickens.
*I'm starting a campaign to have that home run so named.