The Yankees had the best offense in baseball in 2025. While other great offenses encountered midseason regression and frustrating dry spells, the Bombers were the bell of the ball all year. They led baseball in OPS,
SLG%, wRC+, walk rate, runs, and homers. They crushed lefties, righties, starters, relievers, etc., all year long.
Yet, as has been the case way too many times in recent years, the offense went cold when the team needed them most.
In 2017, the offense scored one run in two games after taking a 3-2 lead on the Astros going back to then-Minute Maid Park. In 2018, they scored just ten total runs in four games against the Red Sox in the ALDS. In 2019, they didn’t score more than four runs in the last five games of the ALCS. In 2020, they mustered just one run in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Rays. In 2021, they never recovered from a bad start by Gerrit Cole, only mustering two runs at Fenway Park in the Wild Card Game. A once-robust offense completely crumbled in 2022, scoring just nine runs in a four-game sweep by the Astros. Even last year, when their defense was what failed them, they scored just seven total runs in the first three games as the Dodgers went up 3-0 in the World Series.
This year, they boasted maybe the best and most complete lineup they’ve had in the Judge era, but it still wasn’t enough. Once again, when the team badly needed it, they didn’t come through. Cam Schlittler tossed a solid game, but a back-breaking error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and an ensuing two-run knock by Nathan Lukes in the seventh served as the fatal blow to the Yankees’ season in a 5-2 loss, as the Blue Jays closed out the ALDS in four games.
This Blue Jays offense, which had been historically dominant through the first 2 1/3 games, took just two pitches to immediately put pressure on, as George Springer started it with a double. Schlittler only allowed five singles against Boston and just one runner in scoring position, so that’s not great. After getting Nathan Lukes to pop out and jumping ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-2, the Yankee killer of all Yankee killers did what he does, putting a good swing on a cutter and just keeping it fair for an opposite-field RBI single. There’s certainly a case to throw up the fours as soon as you see him up, but the Yankees elected not to.
Addison Barger followed with a classic bloop single that also barely stayed fair. Suddenly, first and third with one out and one run in with Alejandro Kirk up. A scary situation was averted with a foul pop-fly, but another cue shot by Daulton Varsho threatened to drop in for another barely-fair hit. Fortunately, Cody Bellinger avenged his drop from Game 3 to end the inning with a great sliding catch and keep it to 1-0.
Onto the bullpen game, where Louis Varland went to the mound with a lead. Aaron Judge stayed scorching hot with a one-out single, but none of his teammates fared well against the righty flamethrower, as Trent Grisham popped out, Bellinger struck out, and Giancarlo Stanton flew out to end an eight-pitch inning.
Schlittler only threw 11 pitches in the first, but Anthony Santander made him throw 10 to get him out to start the second. Two pitches later, we got another defensive highlight when another pop-up from Ernie Clement threatened to fall into no-man’s land, but Anthony Volpe made an over-the-shoulder basket catch to get the second out in what was ultimately a 1-2-3 inning.
Varland was not long for the game in the bottom half, striking out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and plunking Paul Goldschmidt to force a move to Mason Fluharty. The first chess move of the night for John Schneider worked out, as Austin Wells struck out swinging, and Volpe was rung up on a cutter that seemed to barely nick the top of the zone. Schlittler retired the top of the Toronto order with relative ease in the third, including another nice play from Volpe to retire Lukes.
Fluharty was back out there to face a pair of lefties to start the bottom of the third and quickly jumped ahead of Ryan McMahon 0-2. A gritty, seven-pitch at-bat culminated in a 3-2 sweeper that stayed over the plate that the defensive ace was able to yank into the short porch for a game-tying home run. McMahon’s scorched the ball all postseason, but hadn’t seen the results until now.
Grisham struck out in a nine-pitch at-bat that saw one or two questionable calls before another mound visit saw former Oriole Seranthony Dominguez come in to face Judge, followed by the Yankees’ captain getting ahead 3-1 and ripping a 112 mph lineout right at Clement. Another hard-hit out by Bellinger ended the inning, but this baby was tied at one.
Barger led off the fourth with a double that had eerily similar specs and to a similar spot as Bellinger’s flyout, but Schlittler continued to pitch to contact, inducing a pair of flyouts before finally getting his first K to end the inning by blowing 98 past Santander. Stanton led off the bottom half with a walk, but was erased on a double play as Dominguez finished off the fourth.
Clement led off the fifth with his signature sinking liner in front of Bellinger, and Andres Gimenez hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to put runners on the corners with nobody out and the top of the order up for the third time through. Springer came up and did what he had to do, lifting a long fly ball to center field for a go-ahead sac fly.
Lukes hit an infield pop-fly that turned into a forceout, but up came Vladdy for a third time against the rookie with two out. In a crucial, dangerous spot, Schlittler jumped ahead, got stuck in a 3-2 count, and perfectly painted 99 to freeze Guerrero and end the inning. A little “thank you” to Wells may be in order, but it was a beautiful pitch. Eric Lauer came into the game for the bottom half and shut down the bottom of the order with relative ease.
It feels like this has happened so many times against Toronto this year, but it happened again to start the sixth. An 0-2 curveball to Barger led to a 47.5 mph slow roller down the third base line. McMahon was, of course, shifted to the left, so it’s an infield single. Aaron Boone went out to talk with Schlittler, but elected to keep him in, much to the joy of the crowd. Just like when he elected to keep Rodón in for the sixth inning in Game 2 against Boston, his decision worked out. Kirk flew out, and Varsho grounded into a classic 3-6-3-5-4 double play to end the inning.
Lauer stayed in to face Grisham in the bottom half and struck him out. John Schneider did what he does and put Judge on intentionally for the ninth total time this year. The last hitter to be IBB’d nine times in one year by a team? Adrian Gonzalez against the Dodgers in 2010.
After Bellinger flew out, Yariel Rodriguez came in and walked Stanton. With two on and two out, the Yankees’ first chance with RISP all day, Jazz grounded out. Just nine outs to go.
Schlittler was still out there for the seventh. A nice play by McMahon in foul territory got the first out before, yet again, Clement dunked a single into right field. The rookie got ahead 0-2 and induced a ground ball to Jazz, but it ate him up and dribbled into center field. A critical mistake turned a potential double play into the hit that knocked Schlittler out of the game. It wasn’t anywhere near the dominance he displayed against Boston, but he gave the team a chance to win with 6.1 strong innings of work. His two postseason starts provide a ton of promise heading into 2026.
Devin Williams came in as the fireman for the first time all season against Springer. In a seven-pitch battle, all changeups, Williams struck out the longtime Yankee nemesis, but still had one more out to get. Lukes came up and delivered a great swing on a 95 mph fastball above the zone for a backbreaking two-run single.
With the Jazz error, those runs are unearned, and you feel for both pitchers, as Williams had concluded his season with such a strong performance that he attempted to make up for an overall frustrating year. For Cam, he watched helplessly from the mound and from the dugout. Williams was careful with Vladdy and walked him before retiring Barger to end the inning, but the damage was done, making it 4-1 into the seventh inning stretch.
Brendon Little came on for the bottom of the seventh, where the bottom of the order showed some life. Goldschmidt walked, and Wells smashed a ball 103.2 mph and 399 feet, but it ended in the glove of Varsho as the team’s second barreled out of the game. Volpe struck out, but pinch-hitting Amed Rosario continued to assault lefties with a single to bring up Grisham as the tying run. Unfortunately, the man who came up clutch over and over again in the regular season popped out in foul territory to end the inning. Six more outs.
Camilo Doval got the eighth, working his way into the circle of trust with strong recent outings. Unfortunately, the bullpen that had been so untenable aside from yesterday continued to rear their ugly heads. Kirk doubled down the line, got to third on a long flyout, and scored on a Myles Straw bloop single to make it 5-1. Talk about playing the hits, huh?
Doval plunked Clement and was pulled for David Bednar as the Yanks entered true desperation mode. Another nice play from Volpe almost started a twin killing, but Gimenez beat out a near-6-4-3. Springer came up with runners on the corners and two out, but Bednar blew a fastball by him for a strikeout.
Little tried to get through the eighth, and despite some help from the umpire against Judge, a Stanton single and Jazz walk forced Jeff Hoffman into the game to face a pinch-hitting Ben Rice with two outs. In a long battle that saw Rice get ahead 3-1, he drew a walk on the seventh pitch. Wells came up as the tying run, but just as the Bronx started to get loud again, he flew out on the first pitch. Three outs left.
Lukes, one of the many lesser-known names that bludgeoned the Yankees’ pitching all series, led off the ninth with a double, but was stranded. Bottom of the ninth coming up.
Jasson Domínguez pinch hit for Volpe and hit a leadoff double in his first career postseason at-bat. Rosario flew out, Grisham grounded out. The Yankees’ captain was up for his last at-bat of the season and got one more hit and RBI for the books on a bullet single off the left field wall. Bellinger followed, and in his last at-bat of what could be his lone season in pinstripes, he whiffed at a pitch in the other batter’s box to strike out. Ballgame over, season over. Schlittler takes an unfortunate loss, Seranthony Dominguez gets the win, and Hoffman picks up the save.
There’s no more baseball to be played in 2025 for the Yankees. Pitchers and catchers report in just over four months, spring training games start in late February, and Opening Day in San Francisco is 168 days away. Until then, it’s up to Brian Cashman to try and revamp this team to rebound from a disappointing end to yet another season.
