Clint Frazier has big season debut; Yankees beat Braves 6-3

DJ LeMahieu already owns one batting title. Should he consider clearing shelf space for a second?

LeMahieu stroked four hits in five at-bats, raising his average to an American League-leading .431 as the Yankees completed a two-game Interleague sweep of the Braves with a 6-3 victory on Wednesday evening at Yankee Stadium.

Clint Frazier homered as part of a three-hit performance, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, and Gary Sánchez also went deep as the Bombers remained undefeated in the Bronx this season.

Gary Sanchez punished this baseball for his 2nd homer of the season ? pic.twitter.com/8fv3bXjXhO

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 13, 2020

Major Frazier. pic.twitter.com/hjt5GZ8eFG

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 12, 2020

Regarded as the club’s most valuable player last season, when he earned the nickname “The Machine” for his robotic consistency, LeMahieu is off to another strong start as the Yanks approach the one-third mark of their schedule.

The 32-year-old saved a run with a sliding play on Adam Duvall’s shift-beating infield hit in the third inning, then knocked in one with a fifth-inning single. Wednesday marked LeMahieu’s second four-hit game of the season and his fifth as a Yankee.

Crowned as the 2016 National League batting champ (.348) while with the Rockies, LeMahieu has 28 hits in 65 at-bats as he aims to join Hall of Famer “Big Ed” Delahanty as the only players to pace the AL and NL in hitting (1899, 1902).

Masahiro Tanaka started for New York and permitted two runs over four innings, coming on Johan Camargo’s two-run homer in the second inning. Tanaka tossed 66 pitches in his third start of the season. Jonathan Loaisiga hurled two-plus scoreless innings to earn the victory in relief.

Frazier, who was promoted from the Yanks’ alternate training site on Tuesday, homered off Huascar Ynoa in his first at-bat, singled facing Tyler Matzek and then doubled off Josh Tomlin in the fifth.

• Box Score