About Last Night: Yanks 4, Jays 3

By Andy Singer

September 8th, 2025

The Big Story

Bend, don't break. That felt like the mantra the Yankees lived by on Sunday, but regardless of how the game felt, the Yankees pulled out an absolutely critical win against the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon to finally win a series against a formidable AL East foe. The Yanks mixed power and good baserunning to score runs; the pitching was just good enough; the defense was less so, but showed up when it counted the most; and the Yankees have now won series against two very good ball clubs in the Astros and Blue Jays in the midst of their stretch as the hottest team in baseball by record. The Yanks moved to just 2 back in the AL East standings, a feat that would have seemed unbelievable back in the first week of August.

The Yankees quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Max Scherzer, who is always a tough opponent. In the 1st inning, Judge worked a 1-out walk with a full count. Bellinger followed that up with a soft single that just dunked into left field to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out and Ben Rice at the plate. Rice battled incredibly hard with Scherzer, falling behind quickly 0-2, but he managed to foul off 4 pitches in the midst of watching 3 balls, 2 of which were good change-ups that just dove out of the zone. On the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Rice turned on an inside fastball and cranked it into the short porch for a no-doubt 3-run homer.

Much was made after the game about Scherzer tipping his change-up in the first two innings and the Yankees' ability to capitalize, but Rice still had to hit a homer on that fastball. It was an incredible at-bat, one of the best I've seen from a Yankee all year.

Of course, the Yankees did everything they could to try to give the lead back, which they ultimately did. Max Fried looked like he was working without his best stuff and even C+ command early on. In the top of the 2nd inning, Fried quickly allowed two baserunners on a walk and a double, with the double coming as the Jays again tested Judge's arm out in RF. He came up throwing, just missing getting Clemens at 2nd, though Judge didn't look comfortable after making the throw. The Jays ultimately pushed two across in the 2nd inning, cutting the Yankees' lead to 3-2.

The Jays came all the way back with terrible defense in the 3rd inning. Springer led off the inning with a double to right, and the following hitter, Davis Schneider, hit a routine grounder to Anthony Volpe that should have given Fried a big out. Instead, Volpe, as he's been prone to do, bounced the throw terribly to first base, bringing Rice off the bag and putting Fried's back against the wall with 2 on and none out. Fried immediately coughed up the lead by allowing a booming double to Vlad Guerrero Jr. to make the score 3-3. Fried deserves credit for settling down after the 3rd, and he made it through 7 innings. That feels like a misprint if you watched the game, but Fried really buckled down after Vladito's double.

The middle of the Yanks' order got the game back in the bottom half of the inning, signaling to Fried that they wouldn't let him lose. Judge again reached on a walk, holding off on a change-up just below the knee. He then surprisingly stole 2nd base to put himself in scoring position. Bellinger rewarded the heads-up baserunning by swatting a double to the wall in right-center, scoring Judge on a ball that just missed going out. Most importantly, that gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

That doesn't mean it was totally smooth sailing from there on out. The Yanks managed another error in the 4th, this time with Austin Wells throwing off the mark on a ball tapped in front of the plate. In the 8th, we once again got to chew our fingernails as Devin Williams was called on to set up closer David Bednar. Williams allowed a lead-off infield single, allowed the runner to steal, pitched around a walk, but did get a strike out and 2 groundball outs on change-ups to get out of the jam.

In the bottom of the 9th, Bednar was solid, working around a 1-out single to get the save. Austin Wells atoned for his throwing error in the 4th, making an excellent throw to nab Lukes attempting to steal 2nd base for the second out of the inning. The Yankees bent, but they didn't break, and they proved they can hang with the best teams in the AL at their best.

Player of the Game

Ben Rice hit a decisive 3-run homer in the 2nd inning. Without it, the Yanks lose this one.

Notable Performances

Judge: 0-1, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 SB

Bellinger: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Fried: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K; he really settled in after the 4th.

Better to Forget

The offense; outside of the middle of the order (2-3-4, close enough), it was completely anemic, going 0-18 with 12 strikeouts.

The Yankee defense was awful early on, and Volpe continues to be a target. Not a good look when you make a critical error and go 0-3, with 3 strikeouts.

My Take

This was a huge, huge win for the Yankees. They are the hottest team in baseball, and now they've proven they can hang in and beat the AL's best two series in a row against the Astros and Blue Jays. They bent, but didn't break, and that's what good teams do: they find a way to win even when breaks don't go their way.

Another note: I'm sick of the sign stealing angle reporters are taking. If pitchers have a tell with runners on base, that is completely fair game, and it's on the pitcher to fix it. I don't care that Judge waved his arms from 2nd base to signal when a change-up was coming from Scherzer. If I can immediately spot it from the broadcast, so can an opposing ball club. It's enough discussion now. Oh, and by the way: Rice's homer came on a fastball. That was just a fantastic at-bat, and a clutch homer.

It's time to bench Volpe. It's sad, and I really feel for the guy, but he's not a big league SS right now.

Looking Ahead

The games don't get any easier as the Yankees begin a series with the AL's best, the Tigers on Tuesday night at 7:05 at Yankee Stadium.