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Sport
Pete Caldera

Yankees rout Orioles as Clint Frazier busts out of slump in big way

BALTIMORE _ Clint Frazier recovered his timing at the plate, Domingo German recorded another win and Gary Sanchez picked up where he left off one night earlier _ crashing a three-run homer.

And the Yankees are only halfway through a four-game series at Camden Yards, their Inner Harbor home away from home.

After erasing a five-run deficit in a victory here on Monday night, the Yankees built a nine-run lead on the way to an 11-4 win against the Orioles before 17,389 fans.

The usual healthy dose of Yankees fans at Baltimore watched O's starter David Hess give up three home runs, two of them launched by Frazier, who collected five RBIs on the night.

And it all began with Sanchez's three-run shot in the first inning.

On Monday night, Sanchez capped a four-run ninth with a go-ahead three-run homer off Mychal Givens to lift the Yanks to a late, 10-7 win.

At 30-17, the first-place Yankees _ winners of 12 of their last 15 games _ are a season-high 13 games over .500.

Lately, Frazier's timing at the plate wasn't the only thing that was off.

The looming return of Giancarlo Stanton, and Frazier's weeks-long slump, invited the idea that Frazier might soon be optioned back to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

On Tuesday night, Stanton was scratched from what would have been his second minor league rehab start at Class A Tampa, for reasons that were not immediately known.

And Frazier, batting seventh in the Yankees order, lined out his first time up before going deep twice.

After belting a two-run homer to center field in the third inning, Frazier followed up with a three-run shot to center in the fifth, giving the Yanks a 9-0 lead over last-place Baltimore (15-33).

Entering play on Tuesday, Frazier hadn't hit a home run since April 21.

And after his first-inning lineout, Frazier was 7 for 41 (.171) with 15 strikeouts since coming off the injured list with a right ankle sprain, with just one extra-base hit _ an RBI double.

"I feel like he's doing a good job overall of not chasing," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Frazier as the Yankees entered this series.

Overall, Boone felt that Frazier was "doing an OK job of controlling the strike zone," and that he was just fouling off or missing the pitch that he usually damages.

"I think it's small, it's subtle," Boone said of Frazier being close to finding his A-swing. "We always feel like he's capable of turning that right around because he does control the strike zone for a young player as well as he does."

In a five-inning start, German (9-1) now has an MLB-leading nine wins, and he extended his personal winning streak to six straight starts dating to April 23.

He was coming off a win against the Orioles last Wednesday in the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

German wasn't at his best, though he pitched out of a third-inning jam, retiring Rio Ruiz on a grounder to strand the bases loaded.

And his own throwing error, on a potential double play ball, set up Stevie Wilkerson's three-run homer in the fifth.

By then, German was working with a huge lead; nine runs were charged to Hess (1-6) on eight hits and four walks.

Just called up from Triple-A, David Hale finished up for his first career save.

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