NOT ’STRO FAST!
Houston cools Tanaka, Yanks
HOUSTON – We keep hearing how the Yankees’ starters are feeding off of each other. They better hope the rest of the staff doesn’t follow Masahiro Tanaka’s lead after Wednesday’s start.
Tanaka allowed four runs over five innings as the Astros avoided a sweep with a 4-1 win over the Yankees at Minute Maid Park, snapping the Bombers’ three-game winning streak.
Every Yankees starter had delivered a quality start during the last turn through the rotation, part of a run that saw the starting five go 7-1 with a 1.85 ERA during the team’s 8-2 run.
“It was really flat,” Tanaka said through a translator when asked about his splitter, which Colby Rasmus whacked for a two-run homer in the Astros’ three-run third inning. “I’m just very disappointed with myself.”
Lance McCullers had little trouble with the Yankees’ lineup, using his devastating curveball to hold the Bombers to one run while striking out 10 over six innings. His lone blemish was a first-pitch fastball Brian McCann hit out to open the fourth.
“He’s got one of the better curveballs you’re going to see,” McCann said. “Out of 90 pitches, it seemed like he threw 89 of them. He’s got a great arm.”
The loss was only the third in the past 11 games for the Yankees, who missed a golden opportunity to pick up ground in both the American League East and wild card races as the Orioles, Blue Jays and Red Sox all lost.
“This time of year, we have to worry about ourselves,” Mark Teixeira said. “I’m glad the other teams lost, but if we don’t take care of our business, it’s a moot point.”
The Yankees remain 6.5 behind the first-place Orioles and four games behind the Red Sox for the second wild card spot. The Blue Jays, currently at the top of the wild card standings, are 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees.
“Those are the days that you have to win because we’re trying to make up ground,” Joe Girardi said. “You’re trying to win series, but when you have a chance to sweep, it can really help. We weren’t able to do it.”
The Yankees are 8-5 in 13 games since the All-Star break, winning series against Baltimore, San Francisco and Houston. They’ll have a much-needed off-day Thursday before opening a three-game series Friday at Tropicana Field against the last-place Rays.
“It’s really big, because you have to keep the momentum going,” Girardi said of the weekend. “You have to keep going in the right direction.”
Tanaka had started the impressive 10-game run with a Sunday night win over David Price and the Red Sox on July 17, part of a four-start streak in which he posted a 1.48 ERA.
The Yankees had won seven straight Tanaka starts dating back to June 17, but the Astros had given Tanaka trouble during his first three seasons, slapping him with a 5.74 ERA in three starts including last October’s wild-card loss.
A pair of one-out walks in the second inning led to Carlos Gomez’s RBI single. Gomez stole second but was stranded there.
Tanaka stranded runners at second and third to end the second, but Houston doubled the lead in the third on Carlos Correa’s RBI single. Rasmus – who homered against Tanaka in the wild-card game – followed with a two-run shot, giving the Astros a 4-0 lead.
“He left a split up, left a couple pitches up that inning,” Girardi said. “He had a real easy first inning and then after that, they really made him work. The one inning really did him in.”