TORONTO — The Yankees didn’t play a sound game for the second straight night, but they did gain ground on the first-place Blue Jays with a 5-4 win on Tuesday.
Ben Rice became the hero in the series-tying victory, breaking a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning with a first-pitch solo home run off Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman.
“I’m always ready to go first pitch, no matter what,” said Rice, who struck out against Hoffman to end Monday’s game. “It just depends on what I’m looking for. In that situation, I was looking for something up in the zone to drive and was able to get it.”
Rice’s blast into Rogers Centre’s visiting bullpen gave him 15 home runs on the year. More importantly, it helped put the second-place Yankees three games behind the Blue Jays in the American League East after they lost their fifth game against Toronto in a row on Monday.
“I just heard all the fans cheering. I looked up, and it was about to land on me. So I was like, ‘I better get going here,’” said Devin Williams, who got the save after a five-out, 30-pitch appearance from Luke Weaver and a quick out from Ian Hamilton.
Ben Rice gives the @Yankees the lead in the 9th 😤 pic.twitter.com/sEqKonHblH
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025
Jazz Chisholm Jr., who started the scoring with a three-run homer off Max Scherzer in the first, also aided Rice’s go-ahead jack, as the two teammates discussed in-game adjustments following Rice’s second at-bat.
“I thought I could just shorten up a little bit,” Rice said. “That was the biggest thing. So I just talked to Jazz a little bit, just looked at some video real quick.
“I think it helped.”
Not only did Rice’s tweak help the Yankees win, but it also allowed them to overcome yet another error from Anthony Volpe.
With Tim Hill pitching, Myles Straw running and the Yankees leading, 4-2, Volpe shorted a throw off a groundball for the second consecutive game to begin the sixth inning. Two batters later, Davis Schneider made it a one-run game with an RBI double. Following a pitching change, a two-out George Springer single off the struggling Jonathan Loáisiga tied the game as Schneider beat an Aaron Judge throw to the plate.
While he and Chisholm turned a pretty double earlier in the game, Volpe now has 13 errors this season. That ties him with Giants shortstop Willy Adames for the most in the majors at any position. Volpe also entered Tuesday’s game with -2 Outs Above Average after totaling 14 last season as a Gold Glove finalist, but Boone has repeatedly downplayed the shortstop’s regressing defense.
“We’re talking about a few extra errors,” the manager said Monday. “I get it. That’s the separator of when he wins a Gold Glove and when he’s not. He’s still a top shortstop. He hasn’t made a few plays that have generated a lot of noise.”
While Volpe’s defensive woes persisted, a strong all-around performance from Cody Bellinger and a gritty outing from Cam Schlittler also assisted the Yankees’ win.
Bellinger had two doubles in the game – including a first-inning two-bagger that set up Chisholm’s homer — and a solo shot in the fifth. Bellinger now has 18 home runs this season, matching his total from 2024.
“I felt really good in the cage today,” Bellinger said. “Really liked where I was at and I just wanted to translate that into the game and continue to stick with my plan. It worked out today.”
Bellinger, playing left field, also made a nice sliding catch for the second out of the second inning. Schlittler loaded the bases with a walk afterward, but he induced a popup from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to escape the jam.
Finally, Bellinger caught the second-to-last out of the game, running after a long Addison Barger flyball toward the gap with a man on first and Williams protecting a one-run lead.
“Cody saved the day there,” Williams said. “As a pitcher, I’m happy that he’s out there behind me.”
Boone agreed wholeheartedly.
“Wow, what a good player,” he said of Bellinger. “Gosh.”
Schlittler, meanwhile, totaled two earned runs over five innings in his second big league start. He also tallied seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts over 90 pitches as he grinded against the Jays’ pesky lineup.
“They don’t miss much,” said Schlittler, whose two earned runs came on Barger singles. “They don’t strike out much, so they definitely put the ball in play. I knew that coming into it.”
With Schlittler, Bellinger and Rice coming through, the Yankees are now 11-17 against the American League East this season. Boone has acknowledged that that record needs to improve; Tuesday was a start with the Bombers now looking for a series win on Wednesday.
“We got the monkey off our back a little bit there,” Williams said. “I said earlier, ‘We played five games here and haven’t come away with a win once.’ So it was nice to have a lead and be able to lock it down and leave with a win.”
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