TORONTO — And just like that, in excruciating fashion, the Yankees lead atop the AL East is gone.
There are still three months left for the standings to flip and flop across the final 70-plus games, but what was once a seven-game lead near the end of May became zero on Wednesday night as Aaron Boone’s club fell further into its summer slump.
For the first time since April 13, the Yankees are no longer in sole possession of first place in the division, now tied with the Blue Jays after dropping a third straight game to them, this one a crushing 11-9 loss at Rogers Centre.
The game seemed all but over after the first inning, when Will Warren dug them a 7-0 hole that soon became 8-0.
But the Yankees (48-38) nearly pulled off a stunning comeback, fighting all the way back to tie the game 9-9 in the eighth inning on Aaron Judge’s monstrous two-run homer before the Blue Jays (48-38) scored a pair of runs off Devin Williams in the bottom of the frame, setting up a chance for a four-game sweep on Thursday.
“It’s a long season. We’ve got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. If we play better, we’ll put ourselves in a better position. But it’s not concerning. Not concerned about what’s going on around us. We’ve got to control what we do in this room and what we do out there on the field. We’re not getting the job done right now, so that’s what it comes down to. Can’t focus on what other people are doing, who catches us, who doesn’t catch us, where we’re at. We just got to play better.”
With the top of the Blue Jays order due up in the bottom of the eighth, Boone called on Williams an inning early.
He struck out the first batter he faced before walking George Springer on five pitches.
Will Warren wipes his forehead during the first inning in which he allowed seven runs in the Yankees’ 11-9 loss to the Blue Jays on July 2, 2025.Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Springer then stole second on the first pitch to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which led the Yankees to intentionally walk Guerrero.
Boone said it was a “tough call,” but figured he would take one of Guerrero or Alejandro Kirk out of play and try to get a ground ball.
But after Kirk flied out to deep center, allowing both runners to move up 90 feet, Williams’ first pitch to Addison Barger was a changeup in the dirt that got past Ben Rice and allowed Springer to score from third for the 10-9 lead.
Aaron Judge accepts congratulations from teammates after belting what was temporarily the game-tying homer in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ loss to the Blue Jays.Getty Images
“I’ve got to make a better pitch there,” Williams said. “It wasn’t the easiest one to block for Ben, so I’ve got to make a better pitch.”
Rice also took the blame, saying he needed to find a way to keep the ball in front of him.
Barger then delivered an RBI single that scored Guerrero for the insurance run, as the Blue Jays made the Yankees’ furious comeback attempt all for naught.
Addison Barger rounds the bases after hitting a three-run homer in the first inning of the Blue Jays’ win over the Yankees.AP
“Obviously it’s never fun losing three in a row, especially to a division opponent,” Boone said. “But our guys competed their asses off and battled.”
Judge demolished a 440-foot home run, his 31st of the year, to tie the game in the top of the eighth.
The Blue Jays had been aggressive in intentionally walking him throughout the series, but opted to pitch to him in a 9-7 game with one out and a man on first, and Judge came through in epic fashion against right-hander Yimi García.
Giancarlo Stanton belts a three-run homer during the Yankees’ six-run fifth inning in their loss to the Blue Jays.Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
But it was still not enough as the Yankees lost for the 13th time in their past 19 games.
“We’re going to go through two of these a year, every good team does,” Judge said. “We’re not playing good baseball. Couple things we got to clean up and we’ll be right back where we need to go.”
Three innings earlier, Giancarlo Stanton finally crushed his first home run of the season in his 50th plate appearance, a three-run shot off José Berríos that capped a six-run fifth inning that got the Yankees within 8-6.
It was then 8-7 in the sixth inning before Davis Schneider hit his second home run of the game, this one a solo shot off Tim Hill.
But the Yankees were fighting an uphill battle from the bottom of the first, when the Blue Jays took a 5-0 lead after five batters and a 7-0 lead after eight batters.
“You blink and there’s seven runs on the board,” said Warren who gave up a pair of home runs in the 36-pitch frame before going on to give the Yankees four innings.
“You go through stretches good and bad throughout the course of six months,” Williams said. “We’re in a bad one right now.”
