It was the kind of hitting expected of Bird, who missed last season because of shoulder surgery, at the start of the season, when he batted third on opening day. But an ankle injury that was misdiagnosed and a subsequent operation kept him out until late August. Manager Joe Girardi said recently that he would not have bet on Bird returning.

“I bet on it,” said Bird, who started for the Yankees in a wild-card loss in 2015. “I bet on myself. I got a little taste in 2015 and I wanted nothing more than to be back.”

That determination was evident when Bird crossed home plate and delivered a forearm shiver to Todd Frazier. “I couldn’t really feel my forearm for a couple minutes,” Frazier said. Then Bird got to the dugout and gave Judge a fierce chest bump.

“I could barely hold my emotions,” Judge said. “I was about to throw him around the dugout.”

Bird added: “Plain and simple, I’m not ready to be done playing and I don’t think the rest of the team is.”

Among the most grateful that the series will see a Game 4 was Girardi, the subject of withering criticism over his decision not to have a hit-by-pitch call reviewed by the umpires in Game 2, which left the door open for the Indians’ rally. Girardi acknowledged before Game 3 that “there’s a lot of people upset” with him. That was evident when he was roundly booed when he took the field during pregame introductions.

“Not the first time,” Girardi said afterward.

Girardi, whose contract will expire after this season, also told reporters before the game that while he loved managing — and was excited about the possibilities presented by the talented young team the Yankees have built — he would speak with his family before deciding whether he would return next season.