Blue Jays' Max Scherzer Had Words for Yankees Did to Him on Sunday

The sequence at the center of the conversation featured Judge relaying what he picked up to Ben Rice during an at-bat against Scherzer, shortly before Rice connected for a home run. After the game, Toronto manager John Schneider acknowledged what he believed the Yankees had spotted and how it played out.

“Ya they were relaying, they’re good at it,” Schneider said, via Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. “Max has got to be a little bit better and it was obvious on the changeups. Rice just missed the one on the foul homer. It’s fair game, the whole MLB knows the Yankees are good when they got something.”

None of this touched the realm of illegal sign-stealing. It was the old-fashioned kind that has lived in baseball forever, built on observation and communication in real time. That is why the exchange drew attention — not for crossing a line, but for illustrating how tipping is on the pitcher to control.

Scherzer met that reality head-on. Asked about the moment, he kept the conversation squarely within the boundaries of competition.

"That’s part of the game," he began (via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). "That’s part of the game. That’s part of the game. That’s part of the game. It’s 2025. Everybody knows it. We live it. That’s just part of the game."

Both teams treated the moment for what it was — part of the chess match that defines major league games in September. Schneider’s comments credited the Yankees while challenging his own club to be cleaner. Scherzer’s response recognized the same dynamic from his own perspective.

Scherzer took the loss and is now 5-3 this season with a 4.36 ERA. With the win, New York is now within two games of Toronto for the AL East lead.