WATCH: Vladdy Jr. Walks Off Yankees, Keeping Yankees from Clinching

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sent a dagger to the heart of the New York Yankees Monday night, hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth inning off Yankees reliever Clarke Schmidt.

The Blue Jays’ 3-2 win spoiled the Yankees’ hopes of clinching the American League East division title Monday night. A win Tuesday or Wednesday over the Blue Jays would clinch the Yankees’ first division title since 2019, and the club’s second since 2012.

Despite the loss, the Yankees still lead the Blue Jays by 7.5 games with just over a week to play. 

Aaron Judge was kept without a home run for the sixth straight game, as the slugger went 1-for-3, walking twice.

With their win Monday night, the Blue Jays are now 20 games above .500, improving to 87-67. Winners of three straight, the Blue Jays now hold a 2.5-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays (84-69) for the top American League Wild Card spot. The Seattle Mariners (83-69) trail the Rays by 0.5 games for the second Wild Card spot.

If the season ended Monday, the Blue Jays would play a best-of-three home Wild Card Series against the Rays in Toronto, for the right to play the American League’s number one seed, the Houston Astros, in the American League Division Series. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball expanded its postseason field to fit 12 teams, up from the previous ten-team format that MLB had used for the past decade.

After their three-game series with the Yankees, the Blue Jays will open a three-game series at home against the Boston Red Sox Friday, before wrapping up their regular season with a three-game road series in Baltimore against the Orioles.