Coming into the American League Division Series, it was supposed to be the Toronto Blue Jays ' scrap-it-out, every-man-in, small-ball offense against the big, bad, Bronx Bombing offense of the New York Yankees .
Turns out, in Game 1, it was only the Blue Jays that were launching bombs. Toronto drove three balls out of Rogers Centre, on their way to a 10-1 demolition of the Yankees.
Their Half-Billion Dollar Man, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , got the Jays started in the first inning with his first-ever postseason home run.
The day before, we made the case that Vladdy needs to be the difference-maker —the franchise player that he's getting paid to be—if this team was to make noise in these playoffs. Consider it done. At least, for one game.
Guerrero went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, setting the pace for the Blue Jays. He came into this series with a .136 career postseason average and zero homers.
Let's not forget about his partner-in-crime on this day, Alejandro Kirk . The catcher's renaissance season continued in Game 1 in a big way, with a pair of home runs.
The actual 'Bombers' from the Bronx, by the way, only managed to scratch out one extra-base hit among their six knocks, a double by Anthony Volpe .
So what about Aaron Judge , one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the game? His playoff history was also sketchy coming into 2025 with a .205 lifetime mark. He did bat .364 in the three-game Wild Card Series win over the Boston Red Sox , and he had two singles in Game 1 against Toronto. But very little impact.
For the Blue Jays, although they took a page out of the Yankees' power book for this one, they made sure that their signature small-ball, full-lineup style remained intact as well. They rapped out 14 hits in all, with no less than five players, top to bottom in the lineup, notching a pair of hits.
Kevin Gausman , the Jays' ace, did Kevin Gausman things, holding the Yankees down with 5.2 solid innings.
Next up, Toronto turns to its rookie sensation, Trey Yesavage , for the start in Game 2. And once again, they'll try to pull a page out of the Yankees' book, who rode the performance of their own hot rookie, Cam Schlittler , to their deciding game victory over the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. This time, the Jays' phenom takes center stage. The Yankees counter with Max Fried.
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