As Ben Rice battled future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer in the first inning of Sunday’s rubber match between the Yankees and Blue Jays, Aaron Judge extended his arms twice while leading off of second base.

The gesture told Rice to prepare for Scherzer’s changeup. He laid off of one before hammering another deep to right, but foul. But with Scherzer tipping one of his pitches, Rice managed to work his way back from a 1-2 count, fouled off a few pitches, and drilled a 3-2 fastball for a three-run homer.

The signal-assisted blast proved pivotal in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

With the victory, the Bombers are now just two games behind Toronto in the American League East, though the Jays hold the tiebreaker thanks to their favorable head-to-head-record this year. If the two team

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