YANKEES

Belt 3 HRs off alleged ace

It’s hard to imagine Chris Sale ever channeling Pedro Martinez and calling the Yankees “my daddy,” as the Hall of Famer did in a moment of weakness in 2004. And it’s not like they’ve bludgeoned the ace lefthander in his first season in Boston.

But in terms of results, there is no disputing the obvious: The Yanks have owned Sale in 2017.

With the 9-2 win on Sunday night, in which they Bronx-bombed him early with three home runs, the Yankees have prevailed in four of the five games Sale started against them this season. Who’d have thought? Actually, on this night the Yankees did more damage against the Red Sox bullpen, with Aaron Judge electrifying the crowd with a 469-foot home run off ex-Met Addison Reed, turning the late innings into a party at the Stadium. Still, the three longballs from Chase Headley, Matt Holliday, and Todd Frazier against Sale set the tone, and the offense pressured him every inning to elevate his pitch count and knock him out in the fifth inning.

So the Red Sox’s new ace is 0-3 in The Rivalry despite allowing only 10 runs in his five starts this season, mostly because the Yankees succeeded against him the way the Joe Torre teams once did against Pedro, by outlasting him with their own outstanding pitching.

In this case it was Luis Severino delivering a gem in a big-stage game that affirmed his status as the Yankees’ ace, no matter how well Masahiro Tanaka has pitched lately.

Put it this way: Is there any doubt who would pitch the wildcard game if it comes to that for this team?

Not the way Severino pitched against the Red Sox, racking up nine strikeouts in what would have been six scoreless innings if not for

GETTY John Farrell gives Chris Sale the hook Sunday night against Yankees but Red Sox manager’s bullpen pours gasoline on the fire as Bombers belt rivals in season series finale.