The Yankees could defy the odds for only so long. Facing their fourth do-or-die situation of this October, against the AL East rival they couldn’t topple during the regular season, the end finally came Wednesday night in a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the Division Series.

That also brought the highly-praised post-Soto pivot to an unsatisfying conclusion, as this $320 million roster fell two rounds short of returning to the World Series. Even with another MVP-caliber season from Aaron Judge, who drove in their last October run with a two-out RBI single in the ninth, the Yankees championship drought now extends to a 16th year.

The Yankees seemingly had the edge in Game 4 by sending out Cam Schlittler — fresh off his 12-strikeout gem in the wild-card clincher — against the Blue Ja

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