The first cut is always the deepest.
Todd Frazier learned that on Tuesday night when he stepped up for his first home hit as a New York Yankee in the second inning of a 4-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds.
The third baseman — acquired by the Yankees last week in a deal with the Chicago White Sox — walked up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the second after Matt Holliday and Didi Gregorius both singled to right and Chase Headley singled to left off rookie Reds starter Luis Castillo.
Frazier — who played for Cincinnati from 2011 to 2015 before joining the White Sox — then smacked a hard grounder up the middle off Castillo. Reds shortstop Jose Peraza fielded it, stepped on second and threw to first. Gregorius remained vigilant on second base, waiting in case the ball was caught. Gregorius was late to advance, and Joey Votto’s toss across the diamond trapped the Yankees shortstop. Gregorius was called out for running wide of the baseline while attempting to avoid being tagged.
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Holliday scored on the triple play to give New York a 1-0 lead.
The Yankees (52-46) are one game behind the Red Sox for the lead in the American League East. New York also beat the Reds 9-5 on Wednesday and next hosts the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at 7:05 pm EST for the opener of a four-game series.
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 25: Todd Frazier #29 of the New York Yankees ground into a second inning run scoring triple play against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium on July 25, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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