The New York Yankees were bested by the Toronto Blue Jays in their first matchup of the series on Friday night, falling 7-1, leaving them behind in the American League East standings. However, the focus shifted from the game’s result to Aaron Judge’s performance in his return to the outfield since late July.

Judge, now 33, had been sidelined due to a strained flexor in his throwing arm and was restricted to designated hitter duties after his return in August. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had previously mentioned that Judge’s throwing could be compromised for the remainder of the season. While Judge disagreed, Boone’s earlier comments took on weight after the game.

In the first inning, Judge’s arm was put to the test when Varsho attempted to score from second base on a single. Although Judge was in a position to throw him out at home, he made a weak throw to the cutoff man instead, allowing Varsho to score, pushing the score to 3-0.

When pressed about Judge’s arm after the game, Boone responded defensively, asserting, “We’re handling it how we handle it, OK?” The Blue Jays acknowledged their intent to challenge Judge’s throwing ability, with Schneider noting, “There was a little bit of unknown with how he was going to respond. He’s got a great arm. But we wanted to test it.”

Moving forward, Judge’s physical limitations will be a critical point of interest, especially as October approaches. With Judge back at DH for Saturday’s game, Bellinger and Domínguez filled the outfield positions.