As Ben Rice battled future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer in the first inning of Sunday’s rubber match between the Yankees and Blue Jays, Cody Bellinger, standing off first base, motioned to Aaron Judge, leading off of second base.
Twice, the runner extended their arms.
“That is correct,” Bellinger said afterward. “That is what was happening.”
With Judge in his sightline, the gestures told Rice to prepare for Scherzer’s changeup. He laid off of one before hammering another deep to right, but foul. But with Scherzer tipping one of his pitches, Rice managed to work his way back from a 1-2 count, fouled off a few pitches, and drilled a 3-2 fastball for a three-run homer.
“I felt like I was getting a better feel for his fastball, better feel for his offspeed,” Rice said. “Timing felt good. I kind of just waited him out, waited for something over the plate.”
While Rice didn’t mention tipping after the Yankees won, 4-3, everyone figured out what they were doing, as Sunday wasn’t the first time they’ve been caught in the (perfectly legal) act this season. That included the Blue Jays.
“They’re good at it,” Toronto manager John Schneider said, per Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae. “Major League Baseball knows the Yankees are good when they have something. Maybe I’m the only one that’s going to say it publicly, but we have to do a better job of making sure we’re not giving anything away.”
“Guys at first don’t typically flap their arms like that,” added Jays first baseman Ty France. “It’s just part of the game.”
Max Scherzer was tipping his changeup (see Aaron Judge) before that Ben Rice HR, which came on a fastball. #Yankees #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/tyGlPHyDhY
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) September 7, 2025
During Ben Rice’s home run at-bat, Cody Bellinger initiated the pitch tipping signals on Max Scherzer’s changeup from first base (look closely at the video below). He relayed them to Aaron Judge, who relayed them to Rice.
“That is correct,” Bellinger said. “That is what was… pic.twitter.com/A2m5vZymgJ
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) September 7, 2025
Rice’s signal-assisted blast proved pivotal in the Yankees’ victory, which put the Bombers just two games behind Toronto in the American League East. The Jays hold the tiebreaker thanks to their favorable head-to-head-record this year.
If the two teams play again this season, it will be in the playoffs.
“[That’s] obviously the team we’re chasing,” Aaron Boone said. “So to win 2-out-of-3 after dropping the first game and getting in late [Friday morning], it’s definitely a good series for us.”
Poor defense almost dashed the Yankees’ hopes of gaining ground in the division on Sunday, as Aaron Judge’s arm, still working its way back from a flexor strain, became a focal point yet again after he failed to throw home in Friday’s loss, sparking plenty of questions and even more spin from the right fielder and Boone.
“I wouldn’t be in the outfield if I wasn’t able to make that throw,” Judge said at the time, except he didn’t make that throw.
On Sunday, Judge’s arm reclaimed the spotlight after Alejandro Kirk walked in the second inning. Ernie Clement moved Kirk to third with a hustle double, which he slashed to right. Judge tried to get Clement at second base and nearly did, as he threw straight to the bag. However, the throw was only 70.7 mph and came in too late.
“I thought he got a good throw off in the corner there,” Boone said, but Judge can crack 85 mph with ease when at full strength, and he’s topped 90 mph 11 times this season.
Judge’s lacking arm strength took an even bigger toll on the Yankees three batters later, as Nathan Lukes followed an Isiah Kiner-Falefa RBI single with a 280-foot sac fly to right. After catching the ball, Judge made a light toss to cutoff man Jazz Chisholm Jr., allowing Clement to score without a relay throw to the plate.
While Clement’s sprint speed is in the 84th percentile — gunning him down wouldn’t have been guaranteed — Judge typically attempts that throw to the plate.
Judge’s arm wasn’t the only one that came up short on Sunday, as the Blue Jays tied the game in the third inning when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed a George Springer two-bagger and Anthony Volpe’s 19th error of the season with an RBI double.
Volpe, who only trails Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz (22 errors) in that department, didn’t charge a grounder before making a low throw that pulled a scooping Rice off of first base. While his latest mishap didn’t lead to an unearned run, Volpe entered the game with -8 Outs Above Average.
He also struck out three times on Sunday, eliciting boos.
Toronto could have done more damage after knotting things up, but Max Fried went on to escape a second and third, nobody-out jam with three consecutive grounders.
Fried ultimately totaled seven innings, six hits, three earned runs, one walk, four strikeouts and 100 pitches.
“The one inning where they got a chance to take the lead there, we don’t make a play, and he gets a couple of huge outs to get out of it to keep it tied,” Boone said. “That was really big. And then I thought he settled in pretty well.”
Meanwhile, the Yankees retook the lead in the bottom of the third when Judge walked, stole a base and scored on a Bellinger double off the wall.
Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge can still move well, as he saved a run in the fourth frame with an inning-ending diving catch that stranded a runner on second.
“The ball was hit really hard, so that’s a tough read,” Bellinger said. “He got a good jump on it, and that was a great catch in a big part of the game.”
There’s a case to be made that Judge’s range and the chance to keep the immobile, oft-injured Giancarlo Stanton away from the outfield is a worthwhile tradeoff for the captain’s arm issues. But instead of trying to sell that point, the Yankees have pretended that everything is fine with Judge’s throws and gotten agitated when asked about the subject thus far.
While defense hurt the Yankees early, there were a few web gems. The ninth inning saw Austin Wells throw out a stealing Nathan Lukes, while Ryan McMahon made a handful of pretty plays throughout the afternoon, including a popup catch that led him into the Blue Jays’ dugout.
“He wants the ball,” Fried said. “He tells me every day, he’s like, ‘Get me the ball. Get me as much as you can today.’”
Added Boone: “I used to say about Gio [Urshela], it looked like he’s slipping into a warm bath when he picks up a ground ball. Mac’s got that same quality. Big third base arm, athletic, rangey. He’s really good over there.”
With a mixed bag on defense, a gutsy outing from Fried and a tip at the plate, the Yankees can enjoy Monday’s off day following a critical series win.
“It’s huge,” Rice said. “That being said, we’ve got more work to do.”
Two more challenging series await, as the Yankees will host the Tigers for three games before shipping up to Boston. Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty and a to-be-determined pitcher are scheduled to start for Detroit.
Will Warren, Carlos Rodón and Cam Schlittler will take the ball for the Yankees against the first-place Tigers.
“We have a chance to be a really excellent club,” Boone said. “And the one thing I know is we’re pretty healthy, and I feel like we have a lot of guys that are in a good place. We are in a position to go get it. Now we gotta go do it, but I’ve felt that way for a long time.”
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