It didn’t take Yankees slugger Juan Soto long to show Padres fans what they are missing.

In his first game back to face San Diego since being traded to the Yankees this offseason, he drove a third-inning high fastball from Yu Darvish over the right-center-field fence for his 14th homer of the year. It was the first of three no-doubt shots for the Yankees that inning off Darvish. Aaron Judge followed with a homer and Giancarlo Stanton also had a two-run shot.

Soto’s 423-foot homer gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead as they went on to win the game 8-0. He also walked in the fourth, flied out to the wall in right in the seventh and doubled in the ninth.

He described the third inning as “electric, fun. Definitely fun. It was pretty cool to see the guys coming through against a guy like that. It’s huge.”

The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic was greeted with a mixture of boos from Padres fans and cheers from the many Yankees fans at Petco Park when the starting lineup was announced and each time he came to the plate.

“I wasn’t expecting cheers or boos but they did both,” Soto said. “I was right in the middle. That was pretty cool. That’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

The Yankees are 37-4, including the playoffs, when Stanton and Judge homer in the same game and are 2-0 when Soto, Judge and Stanton all homer in the same game.

“It was pretty awesome, actually,” manager Aaron Boone said of the third inning. “You get those moments every now and then in the regular season that are, ‘Man, that was pretty cool.’ When Juan kind of took the air out of it right there and Judgey follows it right up, and then here we go (Alex) Verdugo and then here we go Stanton, one of those cool ones during the season that you get to be a part of.”

Soto left a note on the grass in right field after the eighth inning that his former teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. picked up and read when he took the field in the ninth.

Soto wouldn’t say what the note said, but added: “It was something cool. He enjoyed it because when I hit the double he looked at me, he was laughing about it.”

In preparing for his first game at Petco since being traded to New York on Dec. 7, Soto said he thought San Diego is a great city for any big leaguer to play in for a long time.

“My time in San Diego was great. It was unbelievable,” said Soto, who was involved in two blockbuster trades in just 16 months.

The Padres obtained Soto from Washington in an eight-player trade Aug. 2, 2022, after he turned down a $440 million, 15-year offer from the Nationals. The Padres envisioned having him for three playoff runs. Though they made a stirring run to the NL Championship Series in 2022, they were a major disappointment in 2023, when they missed the playoffs despite having baseball’s third-highest payroll.

Soto said he was prepared to return to San Diego for this season.

But the death of free-spending owner Peter Seidler on Nov. 14 plunged the Padres into financial uncertainty. Looking to reset their luxury tax and needing to add pitching, they sent Soto to the Yankees in a seven-player trade.

“We never get the chance to keep talking a little bit farther with the Padres, but it was a great team, great fan base,” Soto said. “But at the end of the day, we just couldn’t get it done and just keep moving forward.

“Where I’m at, I’m more than happy where I’m at. I’m really excited,” he said.

The Yankees and Soto agreed Jan. 11 to a $31 million, one-year contract, breaking Shohei Ohtani’s record for an arbitration-eligible player. Soto had a $23 million salary last year in his only full season with the Padres and the outfielder can become a free agent after this season, when he will be 26.

Boone, part of the first family in baseball history to produce three generations of major league players, said the series should offer “a little added buzz with Juan being back here and the Yankees being in town.

“Obviously, this is a pretty wild fan base,” said Boone, who was born in suburban La Mesa. “It’s been such a popular scene here these last couple of years with the big-name people they’ve brought in. And I’m sure with us being here it’s going to be a pretty cool environment, especially being on a weekend.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

DENVER — Philadelphia star Bryce Harper was ejected after striking out in the first inning of the Phillies’ game at the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

Harper struck out on a 0-2 curveball from Ty Blach, dropped his bat and threw his helmet. The two-time NL MVP said something to plate umpire Brian Walsh and immediately was ejected.

Harper and Phillies manager Rob Thomson argued to no avail following Harper’s 21st big league ejection. Harper had called a timeout after taking a borderline 0-1 sinker that appeared to be low and inside.

Harper is hitting .279 with 12 homers, 37 RBIs and a .929 OPS.

Third baseman Alec Bohm moved to first in place of Harper, left fielder Whit Merrifield switched to third and Johan Rojas entered in center and Cristian Pache moved from center to left.

The Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6 on Thursday night, with the game ending on a controversial runner interference call. The crew chief said the umpire had no choice but to make the call, but MLB says that might not be the case.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Benintendi popped up. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson caught the ball — umpires had called the infield fly rule — for the second out, then third-base umpire Junior Valentine ruled that Andrew Vaughn interfered with Henderson on the play.

After the game, crew chief Adrian Johnson said there is no discretion when a baserunner appears to make incidental contact with a fielder — even if the play results in a defensive out.

Brutal ending to this Orioles-White Sox game. 😬

(🎥: @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/mRL319faFT

— theScore (@theScore) May 24, 2024

“If he hinders the fielder in the attempt to field a batted ball, intent is not required and it’s interference,” Johnson said. “When you see the interference, you call it.”

Rule 6.01(a) seems to support that: “A runner who is adjudged to have hindered a fielder who is attempting to make a play on a batted ball is out whether it was intentional or not.”

But a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers that MLB reached out to the White Sox after the game to say the umpires do have discretion on that play and that interference didn’t have to be called.

“It was a big surprise,” said Vaughn, who was the runner at second and ruled out. “I don’t feel like he was deterred from making a play. It was a high popup. We were all reading it. As a runner, I’ve got to read it and make sure I can get back to the bag.”

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol argued vehemently with umpires at the conclusion of the stunning final sequence.

There certainly was confusion, and the play ended the rally for the White Sox, who had scored four runs in the ninth.

“I felt like we escaped there,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

The White Sox, who have won only once in their past seven games, will try again to gain traction during their seven-game homestand that began Thursday night. The Orioles halted a season-worst three-game losing streak by prevailing in the series opener.

On Friday, right-hander Corbin Burnes (4-2, 2.56 ERA) will start for the Orioles, going for back-to-back victories after holding the Seattle Mariners without an earned run in six innings of Baltimore’s 6-3 win Sunday. He struck out 11 for the second time this season.

“I’m happy with how my stuff looks,” Burnes said. “Happy how the ball is coming out. Can’t really complain about it.”

Right-hander Chris Flexen (2-4, 5.48 ERA) will be on the mound for Chicago, trying to bounce back from Sunday’s rough outing against the New York Yankees. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings in Chicago’s 7-2 loss.

“It’s just about executing pitches,” Flexen said.

In three career starts against Baltimore, Flexen is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The loss came in August when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.