NEW YORK — Aaron Judge said he was not worried. Not even a little.
The Yankees captain had watched his bullpen stumble all week. David Bednar gave up three runs against the Mets on Sunday. Bednar wobbled again Monday in Toronto’s ballpark. Yet Judge did not flinch when asked if any of it concerned him.
Pressed on the Yankees bullpen’s rocky stretch, Judge kept it short.
“Not at all,” Judge said. “I don’t know, we’ve had quite a few guys coming in in some big spots for us. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys, especially in the back end.”
Tuesday night tested that confidence hard. Bednar sat out after throwing 59 pitches across two straight tense appearances. Fernando Cruz was also unavailable. The Yankees needed four bullpen innings to protect a slim lead.
They got them. New York beat the Blue Jays 5-4 at Yankee Stadium, swept the first two games of the series, and moved to 30-19. The Yankees have now won 11 of their last 12 home games.
Warren absorbs the early damage
Yankees starter Will Warren ran into a rough fourth inning. Toronto strung together four singles and a walk. Yohendrick Pinango, Jesus Sanchez, and Andres Gimenez all drove in runs. Blue Jays in front, 3-0.
Warren did not make excuses. He pointed to his own execution and to Toronto’s relentless approach.
“I didn’t execute some pitches, but their M.O. is that they’re super aggressive,” Warren said. “They’re going to put the ball in play. They put the pressure on.”
Manager Aaron Boone kept it brief.
“He missed a few locations and was a little bit victimized by some balls that found grass,” Boone said.
Warren held together and finished five innings. Three runs, six hits, three strikeouts, 86 pitches. Record: 6-1. ERA: 3.61.
McMahon ends the drought, Rice grabs the lead
The Yankees responded in the very next half-inning. Aaron Judge worked a walk after successfully challenging a strikeout call through the automated ball-strike system. Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked next.
Ryan McMahon stepped in with one out. He had gone hitless in 24 straight at-bats since May 9. Dylan Cease threw a 99 mph fastball. McMahon turned on it, went the other way, and cleared the left field wall. Three-run homer. Tie game. McMahon is now 6-for-14 career against Cease with two homers.
Rice described what that swing did to the Yankees’ side of the dugout.
“It injected some life into us,” Rice said. “It’s super impressive to be able to go backside like that here as a left-handed hitter, let alone off a great pitcher like [Cease].”
One inning later, Trent Grisham drew a walk. Rice worked the count to 2-0 and drove a 98 mph fastball into the right-center field seats. Two-run homer. Yankees led 5-3.
It was Rice’s 16th of the year, matching Aaron Judge for the Yankees team lead. Judge had not homered since May 10 in Milwaukee. Rice hit four since then to pull level with the captain.
Rice put the win in perspective when asked what back-to-back tense Yankees victories feel like.
“That’s what makes baseball fun,” Rice said. “Of course we’d rather it be a nice 1-2-3 [inning], but the reality is it’s not always going to be that way. When they’re threatening with runners in scoring position and trying to tie the game up, it’s our job to lock it in and stop them. That’s what makes it fun.”
Bullpen delivers for the Yankees
Tim Hill, Jake Bird, and Brent Headrick handled innings six through eight. They combined for three scoreless frames and allowed just one hit. For a Yankees bullpen that had drawn plenty of fire lately, it was a needed night.
Warren put words to what it felt like watching the Yankees relief corps take the ball with the lead.
“It was nerve-wracking, but we trust those guys down there,” Warren said.
Rice also came through with his glove in the seventh. Tyler Heineman hit a grounder toward the first base line. Rice dove to his left, stretched fully, snagged it, and flipped to Bird for the out. Boone made clear what the Yankees would have faced without that play.
“Off the bat, I’m just like, ‘Oh, he’s rolling that down the line,’ and there’s Benny,” Boone said. “It’s going to be tougher to piece that thing together [if Rice doesn’t make the play].”
Boone was tossed after the seventh for arguing two calls with second base umpire Brennan Miller. It was his 48th career ejection and second of 2026. Bench coach Brad Ausmus handled the Yankees for the final two innings.
Doval bends but does not break
Camilo Doval got the ninth. It was his first save chance of the season with New York.
It did not start well. He walked Andres Gimenez on six pitches. Ernie Clement, battling strep throat, lined a broken-bat single off the bench. Runners on first and second, no outs.
Doval reached back. The fastball hit 102.1 mph. Asked afterward where the gas came from, he did not overthink it.
“I think it’s adrenaline,” Doval said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “You transform yourself on the mound. I’m just trying to do my job.”
George Springer hit a comebacker that Doval deflected, settling for the out at first. Guerrero Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly. Blue Jays cut it to 5-4. Clement failed to tag up from second — a mistake that kept the Yankees alive.
Daulton Varsho grounded to the right side. Rice dove but could not hold it. Chisholm fielded the ball. Doval was late to first and Varsho reached safely. Corners loaded, two out.
Kazuma Okamoto grounded to Volpe. Yankees win. Doval pounded his chest.
Boone watched from the tunnel after his ejection and gave his take.
“Camilo bent, but he didn’t break,” Boone said. “To go through the heart of the order there to finish it off, I love that poise.”
Doval spoke about what it means to close games at Yankee Stadium.
“Coming to the Yankees, I’ve always said that every game feels like a World Series kind of game,” Doval said. “The energy, the adrenaline; you see the guys, how much they care. That’s contagious. You want to pitch in games like that.”
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