Aaron Judge picking up on Max Scherzer pitch-tipping delivers Yankees' win over Jays

After Friday night's snoozer, Yankees fans weren't feeling great about the rest of the series against the Blue Jays. But New York dug deep and captured two straight wins over Toronto to cut the AL East deficit to just two games.

On Sunday in the series finale, the Yanks won 4-3 and most of their runs came on one swing of the bat from Ben Rice. The slugger's three-run homer in the first inning made all the difference.

Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer was apparently tipping his changeup. During that sequence, Aaron Judge was on second base relaying signs to Rice, who picked up on it twice. The first was a long, foul home run. The second was a 380-foot three-run bomb.

Scherzer lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits and four walks. Though the Blue Jays' bullpen went scoreless after that, it didn't matter. The Yankees clung to the one-run lead and took it to the finish line.

A Cody Bellinger RBI double in the third inning sealed this one. Judge scored the run on that play, too. His presence was extremely valuable on Sunday, even though concerns with his ability to throw from right field remain.

Yankees defeat Blue Jays thanks to Max Scherzer pitch tipping vs Ben Rice

Max Fried struggled early, but he managed to give the Yankees seven strong innings. He allowed three runs on six hits and a walk and managed to battle after his shaky second and third innings. Devin Williams and David Bednar logged scoreless innings to get the Yankees to the finish line.

It wasn't all pretty, though. The Yankees recorded just three hits and five walks while striking out 13 times. They also committed two errors. It just so happened that the Jays couldn't get anything going with their eight hits and two walks. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Maybe the Yankees had vibes on their side. CC Sabathia was in attendance as the Yankees honored his recent Hall of Fame induction. Fans were incredibly excited all afternoon, as Sabathia exhibits the Yankees of yesteryear, when they stepped up in the face of adversity and delivered.

It'll now be up to the Yanks to handle business the rest of the way. Winning the series against Toronto was a start, but they'll have to handle the Tigers and Red Sox before the rest of their schedule softens. The division is within reach. They just have to hope the Blue Jays falter against the Astros, Rays and Royals. It's all very possible.

Solid weekend. Bring on Detroit.