The lack of defense led to a series defeat as the Yankees fell to the Blue Jays, worsening their situation.

Today at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, defensive errors were rampant, with the most glaring moment being Cody Bellinger in right field, arms outstretched and squinting at the sky, watching the baseball drop behind him.

Bellinger was not charged with an error, but Ernie Clement took advantage and advanced to third base. The Yankees committed four more errors in this game, marking their most careless defensive performance of the season, ultimately losing the series finale 4-8, widening their deficit in the AL East to four games.

"The ball disappeared above the lights, and I could only guess where it would land," Bellinger admitted. "I wasn't in good form today, and my missed catch was indeed the start of our downfall. We need to improve our performance."

Four errors marked the Yankees' second-highest total of the season (they had five errors against the Brewers on March 3). The fifth inning was particularly chaotic: Max Fried mishandled a bouncing ball from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. along the third baseline, leading to an errant throw, and catcher J.C. Escarra failed to tag out Davis Schneider, causing the ball to slip behind home plate, allowing George Springer to dash home.

"The angles were tricky and the throws were poor," Fried acknowledged.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice, and Jasson Domínguez all made errors, with Rice's misplay directly leading to a run. "Our defense has been consistently poor," team captain Aaron Judge pointed out, "and we must correct this issue. We need to use the off-day to regroup defensively—if we give strong teams extra outs, the outcome won't be good."

Despite manager Aaron Boone's insistence that "this is a great defensive team," the embarrassment of 12 errors over 10 games against the Blue Jays is hard to hide. The Yankees' 52 errors rank ninth among the 15 teams in the AL. "Errors or failing to make necessary plays have been the reasons for our two series losses," Boone stated. "We have great defenders, but clearly, they were off tonight."

The defensive collapse prompted Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake to lose their tempers, as they were ejected by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez in the seventh inning. "The umpire lost his mind on me," Boone said, "but the reason for our loss is that we gave away too many outs." Boone emphasized the need to strengthen fundamental training, urging players to "stay calm and composed": "The worst thing is to be tentative out of fear of making an error."

Fried, who missed the All-Star Game and the series against Atlanta due to a blister on his left index finger, allowed six hits and six runs (four earned) over 5.1 innings, issuing three walks and striking out three. Television cameras captured blood on his left pinky (from a minor cut), but he stated it would not affect his next start.

Domínguez, Anthony Volpe, and Judge each hit a home run (all off Chris Bassitt). Judge's 37th homer helped him surpass Alex Rodriguez with a career total of 352, moving him to sixth in franchise history.

After a 17-9 record from May, the Yankees have only managed 21 wins and 25 losses from June to July, losing their seven-game lead in the AL East. However, Judge firmly believes a rebound is coming: "A breakout period will arrive. We haven't hit our stride yet, but it will come—just wait and see."