The Yankees' pitching staff continued to collapse, suffering another loss to the Blue Jays and falling into a dire situation. Judge: This is nothing new.

The New York Yankees lost again on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-13, giving up 23 runs across two games and dropping two straight matches. They are now in a precarious position in the Division Series (best-of-five) where another loss means elimination. Captain Aaron Judge remarked after the game, "This is nothing new for us."

According to MLB postseason history, among the 34 teams that lost the first two away games in a best-of-five Division Series with the 2-2-1 format, only 3 have managed to come back and advance, meaning a 91.2% elimination rate. However, Judge experienced such a comeback in his second professional year, winning three straight after losing two on the road. He said the team has been battling underdog conditions all season: "That's been our story all year."

“We’ve been in tough spots before. In the Wild Card Series, we lost the first game, then faced 'win or go home' situations in the next two,” Judge said. “When competing for the division title, every game at the end of the season is a must-win. As long as we play our game and keep pressure on the opponents, anything is possible.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone also encouraged the players: “Of course, it feels like everything is falling apart—losing two straight on the road is tough. But if we win the next game, the momentum shifts immediately. A lot of strange things have happened this year; if we pull off a comeback, it wouldn’t be the weirdest.”

Judge recorded two hits in each of the first two games of the series and currently holds an impressive .444 batting average in the playoffs with 8 hits in 18 at-bats, though only one of those is a double. He said, “I just want to do my job—get on base and drive teammates home without overthinking. What really helps the team is everyone hitting one after another and consistently putting pressure on the pitchers.”

The Yankees have a combined 2-3 record in the Wild Card and Division Series, with a team ERA of 6.07. Their performance against the Blue Jays has been even worse—over 16 innings, they gave up 29 hits including 8 home runs, issued 5 walks, struck out only 7 batters, and allowed 23 earned runs, resulting in a staggering 12.94 ERA and a .392 opponent batting average, the worst among the eight teams in the Division Series.

During the regular season, whenever the Yankees lost a game, Fried’s next start was outstanding with a 16-start record of 11 wins, 1 loss, and a 1.82 ERA. But today, he was hit hard in just 3 innings, throwing 51 pitches, giving up 8 hits (including 1 home run), walking twice, and allowing 7 earned runs. Boone admitted after the game, “Clearly, his pitches lacked sharpness today.”