Soto, Torres hit HRs, Judge drives in 2 as the Yankees rout Blue Jays 16-5 to halt 4-game skid

TORONTO (AP) — Juan Soto hit a three-run home run, Gleyber Torres added a two-run homer in his return to the lineup and the New York Yankees snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak with a 16-5 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

Aaron Judge had three hits and drove in a pair for the Yankees, who banged out 18 hits and scored a season high in runs.

“It’s always great to have a night like that,” Soto said.

New York scored seven runs on eight hits against two Toronto pitchers in the ninth inning. Yankees DH Jahmai Jones had two of his three hits in the inning.

Torres went 2 for 4 with three RBIs after being benched by manager Aaron Boone the past two games.

“Hopefully a little building block for him,” Boone said.

Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman yelled in frustration at second baseman Torres after New York failed to turn a double play in the fifth, leading to a run.

“It was frustrating,” Stroman said. “I felt like I made a good pitch. That was a big spot. I wanted to have that turned there and we didn’t.”

Stroman said he spoke to Torres afterward to clear the air. The pitcher also acknowledged “losing my cool” in a social media post.

Boone said he didn’t see Stroman’s outburst as divisive.

“No issue with where Stro’s mind, heart, and focus is,” Boone said. “Sometimes when you’re competing like heck, it spills over a little bit. There’s no issues in that room with anything.”

Stroman was the first Yankees player out of the dugout after Torres homered in the sixth.

“He’s always a guy who supports everybody,” Torres said.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit solo home runs for the Blue Jays, who had their two-game winning streak halted.

Toronto’s George Springer hit an RBI single in the first and drove in a run in the fifth when he was hit by a pitch on the left hand by Michael Tonkin with the bases loaded. Davis Schneider pinch-hit for Springer in the seventh. The Blue Jays said Springer did not have a fracture.

Tonkin (3-3) pitched 1 2/3 innings and earned the win.

The Blue Jays scored twice in the fifth inning to break a 1-all tie and chase Stroman. But Toronto failed to take full advantage of a bases-loaded, one-out situation. Guerrero was tagged out at home plate by a diving Jose Trevino while trying to score on a wild pitch, and Daulton Varsho struck out, stranding a pair of runners.

“We beat ourselves in some areas that we’re trying to do a little bit too much,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

After Jones and Anthony Volpe singled to open the sixth, Soto chased left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-8) with a 396-foot drive off the second deck in right for his 20th homer of the season.

Judge singled off reliever Nate Pearson and scored on J.D. Davis’ double. Torres followed with a drive to left, his eighth of the season.

Kiner-Falefa hit his seventh homer of the season off Tonkin in the sixth. Guerrero added his 12th homer of the season off Luke Weaver in the seventh. Guerrero has homered five times in seven games.

New York’s DJ LeMahieu hit an RBI double in the eighth, his first extra-base hit of the season.

Stroman allowed three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Kikuchi gave up four runs and four hits in five-plus innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Boone said Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring) ran on a treadmill Thursday.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (6-6, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to start against Yankees LHP Nestor Cortes (4-6, 3.40) on Saturday afternoon.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a two-run single in front of Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Danny Jansen reacts after he was out on a double play hit into by Isiah Kiner-Falefa during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the New York Yankees on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays first base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reacts after New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo hit an RBI double during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Aaron Judge (99) and Juan Soto celebrate the team's win over Toronto Blue Jays in a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Juan Soto looks into the crowd as he heads back to the dugout at the end of eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees outfielders Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Aaron Judge, from left, look into the crowd as they head back to the dugout at the end of eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Aaron Judge is congratulated in the dugout after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi reacts during the second inning of the team's baseball game against the New York Yankees on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is tagged out at home by New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) slides safe into home as Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen (9) fails to make the tag during fourth inning American League MLB baseball action in Toronto, Friday, June 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Juan Soto celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi reacts after giving up a single to New York Yankees' Aaron Judge during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Aaron Judge hits a single in front of Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Aaron Judge is congratulated after scoring on a double by J.D. Davis against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge scores next to Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen on an RBI double by J.D. Davis during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees Juan Soto celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands late Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as thousands of people hunkered down in homes and shelters. The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

“It’s going to be terrible,” Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said ahead of the storm and urged people to stay indoors “and wait this monster out.”

Beryl was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Grenada on Monday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph). It was a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles (55 kilometers) from its center.

The storm had not made landfall yet, but officials in Barbados already received more than a dozen reports of roof damage, fallen trees and downed electric posts across the island, said Kerry Hinds, emergency management director.

Once Beryl passes, drones will assess damage and speed up response, said Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information. Before, it used to take two hours to receive information as crews fanned out across the island, versus seven minutes with drones, he noted.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for St. Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Haiti’s entire southern coast, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.

Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands and possibly 10 inches in some areas (25 centimeters), especially in Grenada and the Grenadines.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea on a path that would take it just south of Jamaica and later toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1.

“It should be emphasized that Beryl is forecast to remain a significant hurricane during its entire trek across the Caribbean region,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Officials in some southeast Caribbean islands announced controlled shutdowns of electricity and warned of water outages ahead of the storm, urging people to seek shelter. They warned of landslides and flash flooding as they shuttered schools, airports and government offices.

Hours before the storm, Barbadian Michael Beckles said he feared the worst for his island despite witnessing how people were taking it seriously.

“As prepared as we can try to be, there are a lot of things that we can’t control,” he said. “Electricity probably will go. We’ll have issues with water. There are a lot of houses that are not ready for a storm like this.”

Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

“This is a dangerous hurricane for the Windward Islands," said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry, who warned that when Beryl comes ashore, “it’s going to be a very serious situation.”

Beryl amassed its strength from record warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said.

Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

Among those weathering the storm was Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who had traveled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event. He and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.

He said it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane, with heavy rain starting at midnight. He and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said. “We were keeping an eye on it.”

Even as Beryl bore down on the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms mimicking the hurricane’s path that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.

On Sunday night, a tropical depression near the eastern Mexico coastal city of Veracruz briefly strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the season. It weakened on Monday and was downgraded back to a tropical depression forecast to move inland. The National Hurricane Center early Monday reported heavy rainfall and flooding, with the possibility of mudslides, before the storm dissipates.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

A resident carries wood to cover his house's windows in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People disassemble a beach bar's awning in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People walk off the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)