Yankees Win Again, Despite Jays' Whining of "Cheating"

What's he looking at now? A replay of the homer?

The Toronto Blue Jays need to shut the hell up. It seems like, every time the Yankees beat them, the Jays find something to whine about, going back at least as far as the Alex Rodriguez "Ha!" incident of 2007. And it also seems like, every time they whine, the Yankees make them pay for it.

Domingo Germán started, and pitched 3 perfect innings. The Yankees staked him to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd. But as he went out for the bottom of the 4th, the Jays told the umpires that he was using a foreign substance on the ball. The so-called "sticky stuff," not the rosin that pitchers are allowed to use to get a better grip.

Germán was thrown out of the game. Since this is the 2nd time he's been caught doing it, it will likely result in a suspension and a fine -- as if the Yankees don't already have enough holes in their starting rotation. And, given Brian Cashman's record as a general manager, I'm not sure hoping for a trade to fill any of these holes is a good idea.

Clearly, this was revenge for what Aaron Judge did the night before. He was caught moving his eyes to the dugout, and then hit a 462-foot home run. The Jays claimed he was looking at something that let him know what the pitcher was going to throw. That's exactly what he was doing: His teammates were letting him know that Toronto pitcher Jay Jackson was "tipping his pitches," doing something that, unconsciously, let everyone know what kind of pitch he was going to throw.

Telling a teammate, verbally or with hand signals, that a pitcher is tipping his pitches is absolutely legal. It's not like an electric or electronic system was being used, like the 1951 New York Giants (the former) or the 2017 Houston Astros (the latter). Nothing artificial was used. It's like the police say: "If you see something, say something."

The Yankees had every right to let Judge know what was coming. But, between what's already being called "The Judge Side-Eye" and Germán's repeat offense, this has already given rise to a new round of how the Yankees are the biggest cheaters of them all, worse than the 2017 Astros (as if the Astros only cheated that season), and worse than the 2003-18 Red Sox (who, of course, get treated as if they never cheated at all).

Germán left the game with a WHIP of 0.896 for the season -- but with a 2-3 record and a 3.75 ERA. If he is "cheating," is it helping much?

At any rate, Ian Hamilton was brought in to replace Germán. Not used to being brought in that early, he immediately blew the perfect game and the no-hitter, giving up a single and a walk. He got 2 strikeouts, then walked another batter to load the bases. And it was still only 2-0 Yankees. Aaron Boone brought Ron Marinaccio in, and he got the last out, to keep it 2-0.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, not an expected power source, hit a home run in the top of the 5th. But Marinaccio fell apart in the bottom of the 5th, and by the time Ryan Weber got the last out in that inning, the game was tied, 3-3. Remember: Marinaccio could have expected to pitch last night, but not so early.

It was still 3-3 as the 8th inning began. Same inning in which Judge had hit the controversial homer the night before. Different pitcher: Erik Swanson. Jose Trevino led off with a single. Gleyber Torres tried to bunt him over, but it didn't work. Next up was Judge. No pitch-tip. No recognition of any such action by anyone in the Yankee dugout. No signal to Judge. No reception of any such signal by Judge. He hit a 448-foot home run anyway.

So, what is a signal of a tipped pitch worth to Aaron Judge? Apparently, 14 feet -- which doesn't matter much when you can already hit the ball 448 feet. And it's legal. It's not cheating. Or even "cheating."

In the 9th, Torres made up for his bad bunt with a sacrifice fly that forged the final score: Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3. WP: Weber (1-0). SV: Wandy Peralta (3). LP: Swanson (2-2).

The series concludes tonight. Gerrit Cole starts against Chris Bassitt.