Yankees tie club record with 9 home runs in 13-3 win over Rays

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger both hit two home runs, Aaron Judge launched his 40th of the season and the New York Yankees matched a franchise record with nine longballs Tuesday night in a 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Judge, Bellinger and Stanton went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead four batters into the game — after the first pitch was delayed nearly two hours by rain.

José Caballero connected twice for his first career multihomer game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice also went deep for the Yankees, who won their fourth straight and looked awfully comfortable in a road game at their spring training home.

New York took full advantage of the cozy dimensions before a crowd of 10,046 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays are playing while Tropicana Field undergoes repairs.

Bellinger finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs.

Following the long rain delay, Shane Baz (8–10) gave up Judge's 429-foot shot to center field. Bellinger followed with a 381-foot drive to right, and Stanton lined a 386-footer to right-center.

Baz allowed six runs and seven hits, including five homers, in three innings. He has yielded 29 earned runs in his last 28 innings (9.32 ERA) over six starts.

Carlos Rodón (13-7) earned the win, allowing two runs in six innings.

New York also hit nine home runs in its second game of the season, a 20-9 victory over Milwaukee on March 29 at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the first inning three times in one season (also March 29 and April 29).

Judge became the fourth Yankees player with at least four 40-homer seasons, joining Babe Ruth (11), Lou Gehrig (5) and Mickey Mantle (4). Judge hit 52 homers in 2017, 62 in 2022 and 58 in 2024.

Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.60 ERA) starts Wednesday against Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler (1–2, 3.94).

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz reacts after giving up three home runs to the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge runs the bases after his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A lightning bolt strikes beyond the outfield wall delaying the start of a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger watches his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.

Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.

“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”

Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.

The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.

U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.

In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.

Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”

The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.

Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)