Torres slam latest big hit in key spot

Don’t let the baby face fool you. Gleyber Torres is a killer.

Just look at how he has performed in the cauldron that is The Bronx at the age of 22. He has been particularly stellar with runners in scoring position, batting a smooth .402 with eight of his 21 home runs.

“That’s who he’s been since he got here,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s a guy you want up in that situation. He likes being in that spot. He’s able to really lock in and focus.”

That trend continued in Friday’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox.

After Boston jumped out to a 2-0 firstinning lead, Torres stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded and one out. A pitch later, the Yankees were ahead for good. Torres smoked a first-pitch Eduardo Rodriguez 95 mph fastball over the wall down the left-field line for his second career grand slam, the key swing in the victory to start a fourgame series in The Bronx and send freefalling Boston to its fifth straight loss.

“It energized our team,” winning pitcher James Paxton said after Torres became the youngest Yankee to hit two grand slams in one year since Mickey Mantle in 1952.

The night began ominously, with the Yankees falling behind on a J.D. Martinez two-run shot. It was reminiscent of the big weekend for the Red Sox in Boston a week ago, when they took three of four games from the Yankees. But this time, the Yankees struck back immediately, with Torres taking Rodriguez deep.

With the hit, Torres improved to a sizzling .417 (10-for-24) with the bases loaded and has now hit 14 of his 21 homers against the AL East. Oddly, he’s only batting .241 without men on base. But when the stakes are at their highest, Torres has been at his best, as he was Friday night. The numbers back it up.

“I never try to hit homers, just put the ball in play,” the unassuming Torres said. “I just try to do my job. I see guys in scoring position, I try to do my job, I try to attack early.”