Chalk up a big hit for Todd
THE BALL soared into left field in the bottom of the second inning Monday, and just barely touched the line to stay fair, allowing Toms River, N.J. Little League legend Todd Frazier to stroll into second base with a twoout, stand-up double.
Starlin Castro had already reached base with one out, on a fielding error by Indians third baseman Giovanny Urshela, and Castro later moved to second on a passed ball. When Frazier’s hit off Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer landed fair deep in the leftfield corner, Castro scored easily, while Frazier flashed the thumbs down sign to the home dugout.
“I saw the ball hit the line — perfect placement on my part,” joked Frazier after the Yankees’ Game 4 victory. Frazier was 1-for-3 Monday, with two runs scored and the RBI. He scored on an Aaron Hicks RBI single that same inning. In the fifth, Frazier reached base on a throwing error by Cleveland reliever Danny Salazar, and ended up on second. After Hicks grounded out for the first out, Frazier moved to third and then tagged up on Brett Gardner’s sacrifice fly, sliding across the plate just ahead of center fielder Jason Kipnis’ relay throw to home.
“Just win, just win. That’s the bottom line. Getting down 2-0 (in the series) was hard enough. Every inning, every at-bat, every pitch, everybody sees the determination that we have. Kind of get it early and often, and away we went,” said Frazier. “I got one to hit (in the second), and luckily it stayed fair. I’m glad I could come through today for the team. A lot of two-out RBI. Those are huge. That’s where you make your money. Put the pressure on them early.”
Frazier said the Cleveland crowd for Game 5 will be “raucous,” but that the Yankees aren’t ready to lay down and let the Indians march on to the ALCS.
“We’re an exciting team. We don’t want to go home yet. We’re fighting to keep on rolling,” said Frazier. “The Twins (in the wildcard game) were the biggest and now this is the biggest one here. I know it’s gonna be a raucous crowd in Cleveland. It should be a really good game.” HOWARD SIMMONS DAILY NEWS