HE’S FAN-TASTIC!
TANAKA STRIKES OUT 10, BLANKS RAYS IN FIGHT FOR FIRST
There is no need for panic. The Yankees definitely need starting pitching if they are going to make good on all their talk about a long playoff run. Brian Cashman acknowledged that has been a priority for his front office since even before the season started.
But Masahiro Tanaka went out and showed the Yankees they can take a little more time getting that help. The Yankees right-hander dominated the Rays, throwing a two-hit shutout, fanning 10 as the Bombers beat their division rival, 3-0, at the Stadium.
The Yankees (44-27) won their third straight game and increased their lead in the American League East to 1.5 games over the Rays (43-29).
Cameron Maybin homered in his third straight game, a career- high, and DJ LeMahieu hit his eighth, a two-run shot in the third to get things going. That extended the Yankees’ streak of consecutive games with a home run to 20, tying the season-high mark across the MLB this season.
Tanaka also snapped a more dubious streak — it was the first time in 16 games a Yankee pitcher did not give up a home run. He walked one and struck out 10, becoming the first Yankee pitcher to throw a shutout since July 24, 2018, when he also threw nine scoreless against the Rays. In 22 innings pitched against the Rays this season, Tanaka has allowed one earned run.
He seems to enjoy tormenting the Yankees rivals.
“It makes it even better just to be able to go nine innings, also the fact you are facing the Rays who are kind of up there with us,” said Tanaka, who has earned a reputation for stepping up in big games. “Nice to get a W tonight.”
It was his fourth shutout, seventh complete game and first career two-hitter.
“I thought the combination was the best I saw from him as far as fastball, slider split, all of them playing a factor in tonight’s game,” Aaron Boone said. “Toward the end there, when we’re kind of going hitter by hitter to a degree, for him to continue to get outs and do it in a really efficient manner was huge.
“For him to close it out like that, you could smell the finish line, too. Big-time performance to kick off a series for us.”
It was a big boost of confidence for a rotation that had hit the skids for a stretch. During the Yankees’ recent slump (they lost eight of 11 before winning two straight against the White Sox), their starters went 2-6 with a 6.45 ERA.
It’s a rotation stretched thin, and that was starting to show.
They have been without Luis Severino, who has had a shoulder and lat issue, since early in spring training. Domingo German has been on the IL with a hip flexor strain since June 9. James Paxton missed 23 games with a knee issue and CC Sabathia has had two stints on the IL this season because of an arthritic right knee that will probably have to be replaced when he retires at the end of the season.
But the Yankees were coming off a strong outing from “opener” Chad Green, followed by long-man Nestor Cortes, Jr. and Paxton on Sunday.
“You need performances like that sprinkled throughout the year to preserve guys and it becomes a big reset when you can kind of have that performance,” Boone said.
That kind of performance also reassures a club that it can get through the next six weeks to the July 31 trade deadline without panicking.
That could also mean teams might have less leverage when trying to sell the Yankees their pitching.
“I certainly want to pull down whatever’s best for this franchise and for our fan base because we certainly are intent on taking another shot at this thing,” Brian Cashman said before the game. “We’ve been taken out the last two years by the eventual champs. We’re proud to get to the postseason, but we’re not proud to say we were exiting the postseason at some point. So we want to be the one that has a chance… that everyone’s talking about in a big way when it’s all said and done. So I’ve got more work to do.”