NEW YORK -- Gleyber Torres knew third-base coach Luis Rojas, who had both arms raised high above his head, was giving him the stop sign. But the Yankees’ second baseman had other ideas.

Racing around the bases from first on Giancarlo Stanton’s single up the middle, Torres thought he could surprise the Orioles and take one more bag. He had an early start because it was a full count, and he noticed the outfield playing deep with the slugger in the batter’s box. So as Torres sprinted toward third, he took one last look behind him at O's center fielder Cedric Mullins and realized it was go time.

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“I believed he’s going to throw to second,” Torres said. “So I just took advantage.”

Mullins indeed threw to second baseman Adam Frazier, who then bobbled the ball. By the time Frazier picked it up off the ground, Torres was already beginning his headfirst slide into home plate with the go-ahead run.

It may have been only the fifth inning, but that play propelled the Yankees to an 8-4 Fourth of July win over the Orioles on Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

When asked if Rojas had anything to say to him when he returned to the dugout, Torres quipped: “Not really.”

"I thought we got to the ball quickly,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “I thought with Torres -- who’s running unbelievably aggressively everywhere right now -- we’ve got to keep our head up a little bit, get the ball in a little quicker. And Torres made us pay for it."

That’s the type of energy Torres can provide the Yankees, and manager Aaron Boone knows it. He wasn’t surprised when he realized the 26-year-old had his mind set on going all the way around.

“I saw him with his head down and I’m like, ‘He’s going,’” Boone said. “Sometimes that invisibility pays off. Look, he is very instinctive, and that was a very instinctive play. It gets him in trouble sometimes. And had they thrown him out at the plate, you would probably be asking me about it. Instead, the crowd goes wild.”

Torres knows that just as much, acknowledging that he has made outs on the basepaths as a result of his aggressiveness. But when it pays off, he can’t help but take satisfaction from it.

“It’s that fine line. You try and educate and talk through situations and learn from experiences all the time,” Boone said. “Gleyber does have a knack for doing those kinds of things, because he’s kind of fearless. … You want to rein it in a little bit, but it’s actually a really heads-up play, knowing that ball’s going to come into second so everything’s got to line up perfectly: catch, turn, second baseman even knowing you’re going -- turns into a really good play.”

It was the most impactful part of a strong offensive showing from Torres, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and three runs scored. His Statcast-projected 436-foot blast to left-center field put the Yankees on the board first in the game’s opening frame.

It bumped Torres up to 21 home runs against Baltimore since 2018, which is tied for the fourth most among Major League players. He seems to punish the Orioles every chance he gets, and Tuesday was no different. In 77 career games against them, he is slashing .316/.395/.618 with 53 runs, 18 doubles and 54 RBIs.

The other time Torres scored was on Harrison Bader’s bases-loaded double down the right-field line in the seventh that helped the Yankees pull away late, yet another example of Bader’s knack for showing up in big moments in the Bronx.

With the win, the Yankees (48-38) kept gaining ground in the American League East. They now find themselves just two games back of the Orioles (49-35), who hold the AL’s first Wild Card spot, with two more games to go in the series.

“We’ve been banged up, and it hasn’t always been easy for us, but these guys have competed really well every day. That’s what you can control, right?” Boone said. “Show up with an edge, prepare and go compete your butt off. That’s the part I’ve been pleased with with this group.”