Marcus Stroman explains why he screamed about Gleyber Torres as Yankees win laugher

TORONTO — The first three innings in Friday’s game felt much like what we’ve seen from the New York Yankees in the past two weeks. Toronto Blue Jays left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi was perfect the first time through the Yankees’ order, New York’s starting pitcher wasn’t crisp, and the team looked uninspiring.

The Yankees trailed 1-0 in the fourth before a heads-up base-running play by Aaron Judge allowed Juan Soto to score on a potential inning-ending double play, tying the score. Again, it felt like more of the same from the Yankees lately — Judge and Soto being the only run-scoring catalysts.

But the game changed in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a chopper to Anthony Volpe for a potential double-play ball. Volpe flipped the ball to second baseman Gleyber Torres, but Guerrero beat the throw at first base to avoid the double play. Guerrero’s sprint speed was clocked at 29.4 ft/s, the fastest he’s run this season. Torres’ exchange was 0.47 seconds, good for the 93rd percentile for all his exchanges this season.

Marcus Stroman thought the Yankees should have turned two on the play. He bowled over in frustration, cursing into his glove. He yelled, “Throw the f—ing ball, bro,” in Torres’ direction before slapping his glove, picking up the rosin bag behind the mound, only so he could slam it back into the dirt.

“It was frustrating,” Stroman said. “At the end of the day, I feel like I made a good pitch and that was a big spot. I wanted to have that turn there. We didn’t, so raw emotion comes out.”

In between innings, YES Network cameras showed Stroman pacing in the dugout screaming, “Show a little f—ing intensity, bro, a little bit, a little f—ing bit.” It wasn’t Stroman’s cleanest outing of the season. He labored through 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks.

After Stroman relaxed, Judge approached him while he sat in the dugout. They talked about the starter’s emotions, but Judge felt the need to apologize. Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off the fifth inning with a single that Statcast estimated Judge had a 75 percent catch probability on the play. Stroman believed it was a hit off the bat, but it was a moment that allowed him to redirect his frustration away from Torres in the moment.

“I mean, Judgey is the man,” Stroman said.

“Aaron knows the pulse of everything that’s going on,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone added. “He’s got everyone in that room’s back and best interests. They know they can count on him and that he cares about them. That’s him being him.”

The Yankees scored six runs in the sixth inning after Stroman’s outburst in the dugout. Soto hit a three-run home run for his 20th of the season. J.D. Davis picked up his first hit as a Yankee, an RBI double, and Torres hit a two-run home run in his first game back after getting benched for two games.

When Torres rounded the bases, the first player on the top step of the Yankees’ dugout waiting to greet him was Stroman. All season long, Stroman has been the Yankees’ No. 1 cheerleader for anyone who comes back to the dugout after doing something great.

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Torres said he didn’t take any exception to Stroman being upset with him. They hashed it out during and after the game. Both players said there’s no lingering beef, especially after the offense exploded for a season-high 16 runs.

“I really understand. I don’t have any issues with that,” Torres said. “I know how hard the game is, so I think it’s part of the game when you got that type of relationship with your teammates. … He always is the guy (who) supports everybody, and I know everybody is cheering in those type of moments. To see all my teammates on the dugout waiting for me, that’s really great for me.”

“In the moment, obviously, it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing more than I love to see my guys winning and to see my guys having big plays and swing the bat,” Stroman added. “We’re all very passionate about what we do. We all work extremely hard. It gets frustrating at times and sometimes raw emotion comes out.”

The Yankees snapped a four-game losing streak in their 16-5 win over the Blue Jays. Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. DJ LeMahieu picked up his first extra-base hit of the season. Jahmai Jones had his first career three-hit game. Alex Verdugo had his first RBI since June 14. Torres had his first multi-hit game since May 26.

It’s the kind of laugher the Yankees needed after a tense moment that could’ve spiraled into something bigger than it ultimately was.

“We’re good,” Boone said. “Those guys are pros and focused and we know what we’re playing for. Every now and then, it can get a little messy. Sometimes, that reward of a victory — you fight for it, you compete for it, and sometimes it’s not always perfect between guys and that’s OK.”

(Photo of Marcus Stroman: Cole Burston / Getty Images)