“Aaron Judge just had his 2009 A-Rod moment” - Yankees fans thrilled as captain delivers clutch hit in pivotal moment in ALCS Game 3 

After a long wait, Aaron Judge finally delivered his defining moment of this postseason after coming through during a clutch situation for the New York Yankees on Thursday night. Judge hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians to tie the scores, although he eventually ended up on the losing end.

Yankees fans went wild on social media when Judge recorded his second home run of the 2024 playoffs.

Aaron Judge stepped up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and Juan Soto on first base after earning a walk-off reliever Hunter Gaddis. The Guardians then brought in their ace closer Emannuel Clase to face the Yankees captain and pick up another four-out save in this postseason.

Clase had gone ahead by two strikes when he threw a cutter just out of the plate for a ball. On the 1-2 count, he went back to the same pitch on the outside part of the strike zone, and this time Judge put a strong swing on the ball to hit a high line drive just over the right field wall for a home run.

Yankees fans were over the moon as they reacted to the two-run shot from Aaron Judge on X/Twitter:

"Aaron Judge just had his 2009 A-Rod moment," posted JobberNationTV.

"Judge isn't clutch haters awfully quiet right now," posted a Yankee fan.

"That's our captain," wrote another fan.

However, some fans were not impressed by Judge's home run on Thursday evening:

"That was a powerful hit for the home run," one fan sarcastically commented.

"Short porch just like his home stadium," one fan said.

"Only gone in 1 out of 30 stadiums," another fan added.

Meanwhile, it has been a tough postseason for Emannuel Clase after finishing the regular season with 47 saves. The right-hander now has three blown saves from seven outings during these playoffs, including three home runs and an ERA of 9.00.

Yankees lose in extra innings despite the heroics of Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge celebrates his game-tying home run with his teammates (Image Source: IMAGN)

Following the game-tying two-run blast from Judge, the Yankees subsequently moved into the lead when Giancarlo Stanton smacked a solo home run in the very next at-bat. Nevertheless, the Guardians came up with a marvelous comeback from the jaws of defeat to post one of their greatest playoff wins in franchise history.

Cleveland was down to its final out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Lane Thomas got on base with a double before rookie outfielder Jhonkensy Noel smashed a two-run homer of his own to tie the game up once again. The home team then hit another two-out home run as designated hitter David Fry walked it off in the 10th inning for a 7-5 win over the Yankees.

The Yankees still have a 2-1 lead in the ALCS, with the Guardians hosting Game 4 at Progressive Field on Friday.