NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark, Toronto manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart spreading the news!\u201d Schneider exclaimed<\/a> while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays\u2019 jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse Wednesday night.<\/p>\n With the party underway, those familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra\u2019s version of \u201cNew York, New York\u201d \u2014 the Yankees\u2019 longtime victory anthem \u2014 sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx.<\/p>\n This time, it was their time. <\/p>\n Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer each drove in a run, and eight Toronto pitchers shut down the Yankees in a 5-2 victory that sent the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series for the first time in nine years.<\/p>\n \u201cKind of fitting that it took everyone to win today,\u201d said Schneider, his hair and T-shirt soaked.<\/p>\n Nathan Lukes provided a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto\u2019s 12 hits as the pesky Blue Jays, fouling off tough pitches and consistently putting the ball in play, bounced right back after blowing a five-run lead<\/a> in Tuesday night\u2019s loss. <\/p>\n AL East champion Toronto, wearing its lucky caps<\/a> with the white panels, took the best-of-five Division Series 3-1 and will host Game 1 in the best-of-seven ALCS on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners. <\/p>\n Those teams are set to decide their playoff series Friday in Game 5 at Seattle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels great,\u201d Guerrero said through a translator. \u201cEverybody was just together since the first day. You could tell that something special was there.\u201d<\/p>\n Guerrero was something special himself. The $500 million slugger batted .529 with three homers and nine RBIs in the ALDS, tormenting the Yankees in October in the mold of David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr. and George Brett decades ago. <\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman retired Austin Wells with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning and got four outs to earn his first postseason save, advancing the worst-to-first Blue Jays to their eighth AL Championship Series. <\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s only pennants came in 1992 and \u201993, when the club won consecutive World Series crowns. A season ago, the Blue Jays finished last in the AL East at 74-88.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe some people don\u2019t believe in the team through the year, but I always remind everyone that we have an entire country behind us that believe in us, and hopefully we can get the World Series back to Canada,\u201d Guerrero said.<\/p>\n Ryan McMahon homered and Aaron Judge had an RBI single for the wild-card Yankees, unable to stave off elimination<\/a> for a fourth time this postseason as they failed to repeat as AL champions.<\/p>\n Despite a terrific playoff performance from Judge<\/a> following his previous October troubles, the 33-year-old superstar and team captain remains without a World Series ring. New York is still chasing its 28th title and first since 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got beat here. Credit to the Blue Jays,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said. \u201cThey took it to us this series.\u201d<\/p>\n New York tied Toronto for the AL\u2019s best regular-season record at 94-68 but lost a head-to-head tiebreaker for the division title. In the end, the Yankees never could get past the Blue Jays \u2014 going 1-8 in Toronto this year and losing 11 of 17 meetings overall.<\/p>\n Judge extended New York\u2019s season one last time with an RBI single off the left-wall with two outs in the ninth. Hoffman then struck out Cody Bellinger, and happy Blue Jays players poured out of the dugout to bounce in unison near the mound.<\/p>\n About 25 minutes later, a group of Toronto fans was still chanting \u201cLet\u2019s go Blue Jays!\u201d behind the third-base dugout. <\/p>\n \u201cI think we more than showed what we can do in this series between all that pitching, defense, everything,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cThe guys in here know what we\u2019re capable of and we don\u2019t really care what anyone else thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n Lukes made it 4-1 with a two-run single after an error by Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. cost rookie starter Cam Schlittler a chance to get through the seventh with an inning-ending double play.<\/p>\n \u201cJust missed it,\u201d Chisholm said. \u201cBeen thinking about that since the play happened, still thinking about it now. Still can\u2019t get it out of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n Myles Straw, who came in off the bench for outfield defense, added an RBI single in the eighth after Alejandro Kirk\u2019s leadoff double.<\/p>\n With the score tied 1-all, Ernie Clement singled leading off the Toronto fifth and went to third when No. 9 batter Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez bounced a single through the middle. Clement, who had nine hits in the series, scored on Springer\u2019s sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n Toronto left veteran right-handed starters Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt off the ALDS roster, choosing instead to carry four left-handed relievers against the Bronx Bombers as the Blue Jays pointed toward a bullpen parade in Game 4 if the series went that far.<\/p>\n Turned out to be a winning decision. <\/p>\n Toronto opener Louis Varland, who gave up game-changing homers Tuesday to Judge and Chisholm in relief, became the first pitcher in major league history to lose a postseason game and start the next day.<\/p>\n Varland worked 1 1\/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, and seven relievers followed as Schneider mixed and matched with planning help from his coaching staff. No pitcher got more than five outs \u2014 but all of them were effective.<\/p>\n Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez tossed 1 2\/3 hitless innings for the win.<\/p>\n