When his beloved Yankees are on the brink, Derek Jeter doesn’t hold back. After the New York Yankees lost 10-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS, the Hall of Famer sent a clear message to Aaron Judge and the rest of the team. Jeter’s clear warning cuts through the noise: one man cannot carry this team to October glory. The series is now a must-win situation.

The opener showed all of the Yankees‘ weaknesses. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo home run in his first at-bat, which started Toronto’s offensive onslaught. Aaron Boone pulled Luis Gil after just 2.2 innings. The Yankees got back to 2-1 when Cody Bellinger walked with the bases loaded, but only after Judge struck out with the bases loaded. The captain went 2-for-4, but the missed chance bothered New York. The seventh inning fell apart when Jeff Weaver gave up three runs without getting an out. Paul Blackburn then added four more runs in the eighth.

Jeter’s diagnosis on FOX Sports cut to the heart of the problem. “We talk about who needs to step up for the Yankees, all the eyes go to Judge,” he said. “Look, he’s gonna strike out with the bases loaded again. That’s baseball, but who needs to step up? Grisham. Judge. Bellinger. Rice. Stanton. Chisholm. McKinney, and Wells. The entire team needs to step up.” He emphasized the fundamentals: getting runners on base, moving them over, and delivering productive outs. “You cannot sit here and rely on just one individual to win a playoff series and get you to the World Series and win a championship. You need contributions from everyone.”

Boone echoed that resilience after the loss. “It’s who we are, man, what we do. I expect us to go out and play well today and win the day,” he stated. He pointed to the team’s final two months, when they dominated after mid-season struggles. “You’re gonna have losses along the way. You got to be able to bounce back from them, especially now.” The Yankees are at a turning point in their season with ace Max Fried starting Game 2 against rookie Trey Yesavage. If you win, the series starts over. If they lose, they go back to the Bronx with their backs against the wall.

Schlittler’s Breakout Offers Yankees a Lifeline

While the veterans are getting a lot of bad press, one young arm has given New Yorkers hope. Cam Schlittler’s wild-card performance against Boston reminded everyone why the Yankees wanted to make the playoffs. In Game 3, the rookie pitched eight shutout innings, striking out 12 batters and giving up only five hits. Even Red Sox legend David Ortiz was impressed.

“The first game I saw him pitch, I was like, ‘They have another ace,'” Ortiz told TMZ. “He’s got it, bro. Got it. He’s got it.” That endorsement means a lot coming from a player who spent his whole career torturing Yankees pitchers. Schlittler’s electric stuff and calmness under pressure made it clear that he had arrived on baseball’s biggest stage.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole recognized something special in his young teammate’s debut. “There’s different paths to greatness up here,” Cole said after the performance. “But certainly, this guy has come up and delivered right away. He’s got ‘it.’ I don’t know what ‘it’ is. It’s hard to define it. But he’s got it.” That masterclass got New York a spot in the playoffs against the Blue Jays, who were the top seed.

The occasion didn’t last long. Kevin Gausman was in charge for Toronto in the first game on Saturday, and Gil fell apart early on. Toronto won 10-1. Fried has to do a lot of work in Game 2, but if the Yankees win Game 4 back in the Bronx, Schlittler gets another chance to show everyone what “it” really means.