NEW YORK — Especially as they grind through this critical gauntlet of a dozen straight games against winning clubs, the Yankees know every contest matters, each day another chance to firm up their October position.
This one felt a little bigger.
“It’s huge,” Rice said. “And with that being said, we’ve got more work to do, so we’re going to keep going.”
Devin Williams worked around a hit and walk in the eighth before David Bednar locked down his second save in as many days. With 19 games remaining, the Yankees have trimmed their American League East deficit to two games. Toronto holds a tiebreaker between the clubs.
“It’s a really good team over there; they don’t give up much,” Fried said. “You’ve got to really go out there and make sure you’re on top of it. We were able to win two and win the series. Now we’re looking forward to the Tigers [on Tuesday].”
Rice’s first-inning blast came off Max Scherzer, who was not nearly as sharp as he was the last time the Yankees saw him on June 30 at Rogers Centre. It was the culmination of a 10-pitch battle against Scherzer, a likely future Hall of Famer, that saw Rice initially fall down 0-2 before scrapping to stay alive.
“It’s just being particular with what I’m looking for, and then once you get to two strikes, just battling,” said Rice, who belted a 94.8 mph four-seamer into the right-field seats. “I was getting a better feel for his fastball, better feel for his offspeed. The timing felt good. I just kind of waited him out.”
There may have been more to it. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Scherzer was tipping pitches, with Bellinger relaying signals from first base during the at-bat.
Schneider said of the Yankees: “They’re good at it.” Scherzer, for his part, said it was “part of the game.”
Toronto then chipped away against Fried; Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nathan Lukes drove in second-inning runs, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a game-tying double in the third.
Bellinger answered with a drive that clipped the right-field wall, sending Aaron Judge racing home; Bellinger had two of the Yanks’ three hits on the afternoon. Fried locked in from there, wriggling out of a two-on, none-out jam via two groundouts and a lineout.
His throwing limited as he continues to recover from a right flexor strain, Aaron Judge still contributed with his defense, completing a fourth-inning diving catch that robbed George Springer of a hit and saved a run.
“Huge,” Fried said. “Springer hit that ball really well [106.4 mph exit velocity]. It was just a great catch, being able to get out of that and get to the dugout.”
Fried retired the last seven Jays he faced, beginning with Alejandro Kirk’s inning-ending double play in the fifth. The lefty is 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA over his last four starts, after going 3-3 with a 6.83 ERA in his previous eight.
His 16 wins are tied with teammate Carlos Rodón and the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta for the most in the Majors.
“He really buckled down,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To get us seven innings [when] we were a little short at the back today, I thought it was a really good effort.”
The Yankees have spoken positively in recent days about the strength of their bullpen, and with Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver both unavailable after working three out of four days, Williams was assigned to handle the eighth.
Addison Barger reached on an infield single and stole second base, prompting groans from the crowd, but Williams struck out Guerrero on a full-count changeup and navigated around a two-out walk, keeping the game scoreless.
“That’s what I do,” Williams said. “I’m going to throw [the changeup] no matter what, no matter what the count is. I always have a lot of confidence in it.”
Bednar — “El Oso,” or “The Bear,” a nickname issued by Cruz — slammed the door in the ninth with help from Wells, who made a strong throw that cut down Lukes attempting to steal second.
“I just kind of chucked it down there,” Austin Wells said. “I was hoping it would be on time.”
