How Blue Jays Can Bounce Back in Game 4 vs. Yankees After Ugly Blown Lead

The Toronto Blue Jays have another chance to win the series on Wednesday night.

Oct 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38) reacts after being called out on strikes during the ninth inning of game three of the ALDS round of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays looked for a minute to be on the cusp of eliminating the New York Yankees and advancing to their first American League Championship Series since 2016 on Tuesday night.

Holding a 2-0 series lead after dominating the first two contests, the Blue Jays jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third inning of Game 3 with the Yankees needing a victory to extend the series. Then, along came Aaron Judge.

For as phenomenal as Judge has been in the regular season, the one gripe fans have with him is the fact that he has struggled to produce at the same rate -- or anywhere close to it -- in October.

As Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was dominating the series with his third home run in three games in the first inning, the pressure turned on Judge, and he answered with a game-tying moonshot off the foul pole in the fourth inning.

Aaron James Judge 🫡#AllRise pic.twitter.com/AoIxdi3z8i

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 8, 2025

That was the clear flip in the game, and it energized a stadium and dugout that seemed to be lacking confidence they could overcome a surging Toronto team. And unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they weren't able to recapture their momentum and lost this Game 3 matchup.

After an emotional win for the Yankees in which they now feel confidence that may have been shaken before the comeback, the pressure solely turns back to the road team on Wednesday night. The question is, can Toronto handle it?

Blue Jays Facing Massive Amounts of Pressure in Game 4

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The good news for the Blue Jays is they still have command of the series and simply have to win one of the next two in order to advance. The bad news is that Game 4 is in the Bronx, and the pitching matchup dramatically favors the Yankees.

With Cam Schlittler on the hill for New York coming off a dramatic and historic performance against the Boston Red Sox where he tossed eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks to eliminate their archrivals, he is going to enter this game with a ton of confidence.

For Toronto, it's a bullpen game. Louis Varland is in line to grab the start before numerous arms throw a pitch for the Blue Jays. This makes it an even taller task to avoid a decisive fifth game back at the Rogers Centre.

How Blue Jays Can Pull It Off and Avoid Cusp of Collapse

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Going up against a rookie who is as confident as can be, Toronto needs to rattle Schlittler early to have any real chance. The way things started on Tuesday offensively was nice, but the Blue Jays need to keep their foot on the gas and continue scoring runs against an offense which is all but guaranteed to score on Wednesday.

If Varland can provide a couple of quality innings and set his offense up with a chance to wreak some havoc early, Toronto can quiet the crowd and take control of the matchup. This starts with Guerrero having another big night, and everyone around him falling in line.

Wednesday will be about the bats, and if the Blue Jays can get to Schlittler and force him out of the game, they are going to have a great chance to handle their business on Wednesday.