CLEVELAND – Aaron Judge delivered his signature October moment that would have been replayed repeatedly throughout his career.

You can almost hear Michael Kay introducing Judge at his Monument Park celebration in a few years: “And who could forget his iconic two-run home run in Game 3 of the Yankees’ American League Championship Series victory over the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, putting them on the brink of their first World Series berth since 2009? ”

It was the moment everyone in the ballpark had been waiting for Thursday night. Lil Wayne’s 2005 hit “Fireman” blasted through the Progressive Field speakers as the world’s best closer, Emmanuel Clase, waltzed in from the bullpen. The Cleveland Guardians led 3-1 in the eighth inning, with two outs, a runner on first base and the game’s best hitter, Aaron Judge, stepping into the batter’s box.

On a recent podcast, Guardians catcher Austin Hedges boldly claimed that Clase is the best pitcher in MLB history. “He’s better than Mariano (Rivera),” Hedges declared. “If you need three outs, he’s the best pitcher of all time to get them.”

Clase started the matchup against Judge with a 98.7 mph cutter that missed its target. Hedges had called for the pitch to be let in, onto Judge’s hands, but it drifted over the heart of the plate. The judge missed the net and threw it behind him. Then he swung over a perfectly placed cutter on the black bottom of the strike zone to fall behind 0-2 against a pitcher Hedges considered the best to ever step on a mound.

On the 0-2 pitch, Clase tried to get Judge to chase a cutter off the plate, but Judge didn’t bite. Those two external cutters were crucial and set the stage for what would unfold next.

Clase took another cut to the perimeter, and this time Judge hit him right on the spot. He didn’t miss it. Judge claimed he was merely trying to poke a single into right field to give Giancarlo Stanton the lead with two runners on base, but the ball continued to carry.

Throughout the postseason, Judge has spoken about the ghosts of Yankees greats who seem to be on their side. His home run landed in the same spot where Sandy Alomar Jr. his game-tying home run off Rivera in Game 4 of the 1997 American League Division Series. Twenty-seven years later, Mariano’s ghost delivered a measure of vengeance against anyone who doubted his legacy as the greatest of all time.

As Judge’s ball soared through the Cleveland air, the entire Yankees dugout rippled over the railing. Judge wasn’t enjoying the moment; according to Statcast, it was the second-fastest house-to-house velocity of his career (only his home run against José Berríos in the 2017 Wild Card Game was faster).

Judge’s home run off Clase felt unlikely. He had allowed only five runs in the regular season and was by far the most undefeated pitcher in the game. Guardians designated hitter David Fry noted after the game that when Clase walks in, the Guardians dugout often feels like he can stop watching, convinced that the game has already been decided.

“So we were obviously shocked,” Fry said of Judge’s home run.

“Obviously that guy is going to be the MVP right there,” Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd said. “He took one of the guys who will play for Cy Young on a great field.”

In the next at bat, Stanton delivered the go-ahead home run off Clase, a stunning development that suddenly put the Yankees six outs away from a 3-0 lead in the ALCS. A 3-0 lead over the Guardians would have been insurmountable; they don’t have the talent that the 2004 Boston Red Sox possessed.

But the Yankees didn’t take advantage of Judge and Stanton’s back-to-back home runs. In the ninth inning, the Guardians were on their final swing and faced with the reality that their season was on life support. Yankees closer Luke Weaver, who had done his best Rivera imitation last month, gave up a two-out double to Lane Thomas. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt sent pinch hitter Jhonkensy Noel to Weaver. On the second pitch he saw, Weaver hung a changeup over the heart of the plate that sent Noel, aptly nicknamed “Big Christmas,” on a sled ride 400 feet over the left field wall to tie the game.

“It still hurts a little bit knowing how hard they worked to get the game to where it was,” Weaver said of Judge and Stanton. “It hurts even more knowing I was one field away. It all stinks. It hurts more to know how close we were and how big a 3-0 (lead) would be.”

With the game in extra innings, the Yankees couldn’t pull through in the top of the 10th. Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Clay Holmes for the bottom of the inning. Holmes came in on a streak of 14 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings to start his postseason career. The only pitcher with a longer streak was of course Rivera with 16 scoreless innings.

Holmes’ scoreless streak broke after 15 1/3 innings after he left a sinker in the zone for Fry, who hit a walk-off two-run home run for the Guardians, who trailed 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. The Yankees are faced with the need to quickly overcome a heartbreaking loss knowing how close they came to setting themselves up for a potential sweep.

“A loss is a loss, whether it’s a clean loss or whether we lost 3-1 or something like that,” Stanton said. “This one obviously stings a bit more, but ultimately an ‘L’ is an ‘L’ of one, two, eight, whatever. Tomorrow is a new day. We have to get it done.”

The Yankees will start rookie Luis Gil in Game 4. Gil hasn’t started since September 28 and has struggled with command issues all season. His opponent, Gavin Williams, hasn’t thrown since September 22. One advantage the Guardians may have entering Game 4 is that all of their best bullpen arms didn’t throw many pitches Thursday night and should be available. For the Yankees, Tommy Kahnle threw 26 pitches, while Weaver threw 20. Meanwhile, Holmes will have to figure out how to bounce back from a devastating performance.

Judge was one of the biggest supporters of Holmes’ clubhouse when the reliever was going through his troubles during the regular season, routinely telling reporters that he was the right choice to be the team’s closer. And Holmes is a big reason why Judge’s home run is now just a footnote.

(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)