TORONTO — Aaron Judge‘s pivotal two-run home run shattered a prominent Maple Leaf adorning the front of the Rogers Centre’s restaurant, propelling the New York Yankees to a hard-fought 6-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday evening. The win came amidst controversy as pitcher Domingo Germán was ejected from the game for using sticky substances on the ball.
Following the recent sign-stealing allegations, Aaron Judge faced a chorus of boos as he struck out in his initial two plate appearances. These reactions came after his impressive performance in the previous game, where he smacked two solo home runs in a 7-4 victory. The second of those homers, a tremendous 462-foot blast off Jay Jackson in the eighth inning, drew attention as Judge briefly glanced toward the Yankees’ dugout. Speculation arose among Toronto’s broadcasters that he may have been searching for some sort of signal, prompting Blue Jays manager John Schneider to describe Judge’s actions as “peculiar.”
In the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game, with the score tied at 3-3, Aaron Judge locked his gaze on Erik Swanson (2-2), never diverting his eyes. His mammoth 448-foot home run to center field grazed a section of a white Maple Leaf situated between the words “WESTJET” and “FLIGHTDECK” beneath the windows of a newly refurbished social area. This particular section of the ballpark underwent renovations earlier this year.
In his recent four-game stretch, Aaron Judge has launched five home runs, elevating his tally for the season to 11 homers.
Following Judge’s strikeout in the third inning, there ensued a short but intense exchange of words between Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker and Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas. Walker proceeded to the outer part of the dugout, vocally expressing his dissatisfaction and making gestures towards Rojas, who formerly served as the manager for the Mets.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a standout player for the Blue Jays, was taken out of the game after the eighth inning. It seemed that he injured his leg while fielding a popped bunt from Gleyber Torres in the top half of the inning.
Germán faced an ejection when he stepped onto the mound to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, prompting umpires to inspect his hands for banned sticky substances. This ejection, which is expected to result in a 10-game suspension, marks the fourth occurrence since Major League Baseball initiated its crackdown on prohibited grip aids two years ago, and the second incident in the current season.
After successfully retiring the first nine batters, Germán faced an inspection of his hands by first base umpire D.J. Reyburn as he prepared to take the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning. Additional umpires, accompanied by Yankees manager Aaron Boone, joined the discussion, ultimately leading to Germán’s ejection by crew chief James Hoye, who was serving as the home plate umpire.
During an April 15 start against Minnesota, Hoye’s crew inspected Germán, who had retired his initial 16 batters. Although they requested Germán to wash rosin off his hand, a small residue remained on his pinkie finger. Despite the examination, Germán was allowed to continue pitching in that particular game.
On April 20, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer faced a suspension due to the use of sticky substances. Similarly, in 2021, Seattle’s Héctor Santiago and Arizona’s Caleb Smith were also suspended for the same reason.
Ian Hamilton took over for Germán on the mound but was forced to leave the game after facing five batters and throwing 27 pitches due to tightness in his right groin.
Ryan Weber earned his first win as a member of the Yankees, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up three hits.
In the final moments of the game, Wandy Peralta, who was the sixth pitcher used by the Yankees, induced Santiago Espinal to ground into a double play with two runners on base, securing his third save of the season.
Torres delivered a pair of hits and drove in two runs. Both Torres and Harrison Bader contributed an RBI during the third inning. Additionally, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit his first home run of the season, expanding the team’s lead to 3-0 in the fifth.
Toronto evened the score with a sequence of four consecutive hits, all with two outs, in the fifth inning. Kevin Kiermaier launched a home run, Bo Bichette produced an RBI double, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. forced Ron Marinaccio out of the game with an RBI single.
UP NEXT
On Wednesday, the Yankees will have RHP Gerrit Cole (5-0, 2.22) taking the mound, while the Blue Jays will counter with RHP Chris Bassitt (5-2, 3.49).
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