As Aaron Judge braced for an 0-2 pitch, Yankee Stadium roared in unison.

“MVP! MVP! MVP!” the crowd bellowed, desperate for the Yankees’ captain to deliver a signature postseason moment.

Judge, whose prior postseason struggles have been well-documented, rose to the occasion, turning on a 99.7-mph, inside fastball from Blue Jays reliever Louis Varland. With two runners on, one out and the Yankees down — 2-0 in the ALDS and 6-3 in the fourth inning of a do-or-die Game 3 — Judge could only watch and wait as his lumber sent a towering flyball deep into the Bronx night.

He had the distance. That much was clear off the bat.

But would the ball stay fair?

The left field foul pole left no doubt, impeding the game-tying homer’s trajectory. With a clank toward the upper half of the pole, Yanke

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