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, Aaron Judge extended his arms twice while leading off of second base.
The gesture 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.
The signal-assisted blast proved pivotal in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.
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
With the victory, the Bombers are now just two games behind Toronto in the American League East, though 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.
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 game, sparking plenty of questions and even more spin from the right fielder and Aaron 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.
When at full strength, Judge can crack 85 mph with ease, 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.
Meanwhile, the Yankees retook the lead in the bottom of the third when Judge walked, stole a base and scored on a Cody Bellinger double off the wall.
And fortunately for them, 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.
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.
It remains unclear just how often Judge will play right moving forward, as Boone has described it as a day-to-day decision.
Such a choice won’t have to be made on Monday, as the Yankees have the day off following a huge series win.
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 Tigers.
