Yankees’ Stroman on outburst at Torres: ‘Have to be better’

New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman took responsibility for “losing my cool” and said he has to “be better” after yelling at teammate Gleyber Torres during Friday night’s 16-5 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The right-hander yelled at second baseman Torres after New York failed to turn a double play in the fifth inning, 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 later said in a social media post that “Raw emotion and passion are part of the game.”

The squad went crazy today. Love to see it. Raw emotion and passion are part of the game. When you care deeply…frustrations come into the light. That’s on me for losing my cool. I have to be better. Truly love this team and will always compete at the highest level for my…

— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 29, 2024

Yankees manager Aaron 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 hit a two-run homer in the sixth.

“He’s always a guy who supports everybody,” said Torres, who was making his return to the lineup after being benched for two games.

Torres went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Stroman allowed three runs and five hits in 4⅓ innings. He was chased when the Blue Jays scored twice in the fifth to break a 1-all tie. But Toronto failed to take advantage of a bases-loaded, one-out situation, and New York took over from there.

The Yankees snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak by banging out 18 hits and scoring a season high in runs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.