The Prague Post - Yankees deny Blue Jays playoff sweep as Mariners beat Tigers

Judge drove in a playoff career-high four runs and matched a post-season best with three hits to spark the Yankees.

"Got to get the job done," Judge said. "Go out there and have some fun, try to put a good hit on something and see what happens."

Denying Toronto a sweep in the best-of-five American League Division Series, the Yankees pulled within 2-1 entering game four on Wednesday in New York.

"It's going to be a battle," Judge said.

The rally from five runs down was the Yankees' largest-ever comeback in an elimination game and Toronto's biggest blown lead loss of the year.

"There's no panic in this team," Judge said. "The boys stayed locked in."

The Blue Jays remain one win from their first AL Championship Series (ALCS) since 2016, but they have not won a playoff series since beating Texas in 2016.

Seattle grabbed a 2-1 lead in the other AL division series with an 8-4 victory at Detroit. The Mariners can reach their first ALCS since 2001 by winning game four on Wednesday in Detroit.

"It's pretty cool to be in that position, but we're a long ways away," Mariners winning pitcher Logan Gilbert said. "Love the momentum we have but we've got to find a way to take it."

Neither starting pitcher completed three innings in the Yankee Stadium slugfest, but New York batters bashed Toronto's relief pitchers while the Yankee bullpen dominated.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-run homer in the first inning put Toronto ahead, but New York answered in the first when Judge singled, advanced when Ben Rice reached base on an error and scored on Giancarlo Stanton's single.

The Blue Jays seized a 6-1 lead in the third inning starting when Davis Schneider doubled and scored on a Daulton Varsho single.

Ernie Clement, who went 4-for-4 at the plate, followed with a run-scoring single and Anthony Santander added a two-run single.

The Yankees, however, escaped the five-run hole. Trent Grisham doubled and scored on a Judge double in the New York third and Stanton added a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

When Judge smashed a three-run homer off the left-field pole in the fourth, the Yankees equalized at 6-6.

"Thankfully the ghosts took that over and kept it fair for us," Judge said. "That was a nice one."

Chisholm blasted a solo homer in the fifth as the Yankees seized their first lead of the series and Amed Rosario doubled and scored on an Austin Wells single to give New York an 8-6 advantage.

In the sixth, Judge intentionally walked, advanced on Cody Bellinger's double and scored on Rice's sacrifice fly to create the final margin.

- 'Good things happened' -

At Detroit, the Mariners got homers from Cal Raleigh, Eugenio Suarez and J.P. Crawford to overpower the Tigers.

Gilbert struck out seven and scattered four hits over six innings with no walks.

"I was trying to be aggressive," Gilbert said. "I didn't get a ton of first-pitch strikes but the slider was feeling pretty good. Just trying to make them put it in play and good things happened."

Seattle grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Victor Robles doubled and scored on a single by Crawford, who took second base on a throwing error and scored on Randy Arozarena's single.

Suarez smashed a solo homer to begin the fourth inning for a 3-0 Mariners edge.

Seattle added another run in the fourth when Dominic Canzone walked, took second when Crawford walked and scored on Raleigh's single.

Detroit scored in the fifth inning when Dillon Dingler was hit by a pitch, advanced on a sacrifice bunt, took third on Javier Baez's single and raced home when Kerry Carpenter grounded into a fielder's choice.

Crawford answered with a solo homer in the sixth and drove in another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly while Raleigh added a two-run homer in the ninth.

Detroit's Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run double and scored on an Andy Ibanez single in the ninth to trim Seattle's victory margin.

C.Novotny--TPP