Yankees Ace, Frazier power team to seven over with 3rd straight win

The Yankees continued their winning ways on a brilliant 70 degree July day at Yankee Stadium, pushing aside the hapless Cincinnati Reds for their seventh win in ten games.

Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, had to catch himself before today’s game when he inadvertently used the word “ace” in the same sentence with Luis Severino. But he needed not have corrected himself as Severino went out there and once again dominated major league hitter by pounding the strike zone with a devasting mix of 97 mph fastballs and a swing and miss slider.

PLAY FANDUEL: New users win first contest or get credited up to $120!

And if there’s any doubt left about where Masahiro Tanaka stands with the team and, in particular, Girardi, Severino is quietly and efficiently slamming the door when it comes to who starts Game One of the 2017 Playoffs.

Heroes come small. big, and early

Heroes on the Yankees, though, come big and small these days. And the smallest of the small is Ronald Torreyes, who continues to come up big whenever his name appears on the lineup card.

A bonafide candidate as the Yankees Most Valuable Player (in my book) this season, Torreyes played in his 66th game this season, collected two hits raising his batting average above .290, and scored both times on base hits by Clint Frazier.

Later, the Yankees would pile it on the Reds, crushing them as soon as Homer Bailey, who by the way, looked pretty good as a trade target today, left the game. But it was these runs that set the tone of the game.

And these are also the differences from the Yankees who went 10-22 not long ago to the team taking the field every day now and playing good solid baseball.

Frazier, who reportedly was given a tongue-lashing by his teammate and mentor, Matt Holliday, to choose his friends better is a dramatic story unfolding before our eyes. Frazier himself admits to being deluged with so-called friends who knew him “way back when” during the days following his call-up from Scranton.

And perhaps taking a cue from his outfield compliment, Aaron Judge, Frazier is showing that he belongs not only on the field but in the clubhouse as a professional ballplayer who is capable of setting his priorities straight.

Roster collisions coming soon

Brian Cashman has hinted numerous times that Frazier is ticketed for a return to Triple-A as soon as Aaron Hicks is back, but his performance on the field continues to dictate otherwise. That one could get interesting, but no matter what, it’s a win-win for the team.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Diamondbacks outfielder’s comment on Carlos Rodón’s IG raises eyebrows
• Reflecting on the 2013 New York Yankees’ top 10 prospects
• Did Andrew Benintendi contract help Yankees with Ian Happ trade?
• Aaron Judge Time interview scared Yankees as much as it scared you
• MLB Network’s proposed Yankees-White Sox trade seems insane

Severino was simply magnificent and no matter where the Reds sit in the standings, they do have a pretty good lineup. Girardi went a long way with him, stretching Severino out with 112 pitches. And later, we’ll probably hear Girardi say he went a little over the top today as Severino, noticeably tired, gave up two runs in his final inning.

Soon, there will come a time when the team will need to back off that a little to preserve their best for the Playoffs, and also to avoid the kind of debacle the Mets face now because they pushed their young staff too far in 2015.

But for now, it’s safe to say the Yankees are rolling again. Tampa Bay, a team, trying to do it with smoke and mirrors, has been struggling of late and they’ll be arriving for four games at the Stadium beginning Thursday night.

The Yankees cannot only put them away, perhaps for good but also stand a good chance of picking up ground, or even surpassing the Red Sox, who play the red hot Royals over the weekend.

Bits and Pieces

Aaron Judge was given the day off and did not appear in the game.

Gary Sanchez came up with a double to deep left field scoring Frazier in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Yankees a three-run lead. From there, Didi Gregorius homered yet again, and the Yankees piled it on for the win.

Jacoby Ellsbury, recently and publicly confined mainly to the bench as the Yankees last outfielder made the start and went hitless. He did, however, hit a sharp ball to short that was turned into a double play.

Next: Yankees Rumor Roundup: What's likely, what's not

Greg Bird was in the clubhouse and reported that this injury doesn’t concern him as much as the shoulder injury that cost him the 2016 season. He says he’s feeling “fine.”

Caleb Smith with definitely get the start, his second, over Luis Cessa, who bombed today in a rare relief appearance, in the series against the Rays.