Blue Jays Manager Has Surprising Response to Yankees Tipped Pitches

The Toronto Blue Jays coach gave his two cents on the New York Yankees relaying pitches in a recent win.

Sep 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) hits the ball for a homerun during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images | Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees aren't shy when they notice pitch tipping, and it paid off for them again in their series win against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the first inning, just before Ben Rice went yard to secure the Yankees a 3-0 lead, Aaron Judge could be seen at second base, waving his arms to communicate Max Scherzer's pitches.

Max Scherzer was tipping his changeup. It led to an amazing AB from Ben Rice.

A 3-run HR gives the Yankees a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/6j490ZronO

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) September 7, 2025

Blue Jays coach John Schneider weighed in after the game.

“They were relaying (pitches).. they're good at it. Max has got to be a little bit better, you know it was obvious on the changeups. [...] It's fair game, the whole...Major League Baseball knows the Yankees are good when they've got something," Schneider said. "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.”

"At the end of the day you've got to be tight, you've got to make pitches, but yeah it was pretty clear Bellinger was giving it to Judge and Judge was giving it to Rice."

Cody Bellinger was open with reporters after the game, as relaying pitches is perfectly legal.

“That is correct,” Bellinger said. “That is what was happening.”

The 2025 Yankees used this ability to their advantage in a July game against the Seattle Mariners, when Mariners pitcher Andrés Muñoz was tipping his slider. They were able to come back from a 5-0 deficit at the end of the seventh inning to win that game 6-5, and they beat the Blue Jays in this rubber match 4-3.

This series with the Blue Jays was crucial for the Yankees, who have slowly climbed back from their 6.5 game deficit in their division. After losing the series opener (likely due, in part, to limited sleep after a night game in Houston), the Yankees won two and now find themselves just two games behind the Blue Jays for the AL East lead. The Yankees are at the top of the AL Wildcard, 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox and five games ahead of the Seattle Mariners.

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