BEAUTY & THE EAST
Tanaka throws gem as Yanks trim Bosox’s division lead
Masahiro Tanaka was excited as he left the field in the sixth inning Saturday in The Bronx. He gave up just one run in seven innings in a 5-1 Yankees victory, which cut the Red Sox’s AL East lead to 4 1/ 2 games and allowed the Bombers to maintain a firm grasp on a wild-card spot. Sports
The Yankees considered themselves to be in the AL East title hunt a year ago until they were on the wrong end of a four-game sweep at Fenway Park in mid-September that left them no choice but to shoot for what turned out to be an unsuccessful run at a wild-card berth.
So it is no surprise after they shook off another punch from the division leaders by beating Boston, 5-1, on Saturday in The Bronx, the Yankees made it clear their eyes still are on a division crown.
With another acelike performance by Masahiro Tanaka and the first homer in well over a month from Matt Holliday, it is easy to understand why.
“I think we’ve got to take it day-by-day and win-by-win, but we certainly aren’t focused on anything but trying to win the division,” said Chase Headley, who added three hits and a solo homer in the victory. “There’s a lot of baseball to be played. We’ll try to get wins and we’ll see what happens.”
If Tanaka continues to pitch like he has since returning from shoulder fatigue and Holliday at least approaches his production from before the All-Star break, the Yankees should at least have a chance.
That might not have been the case had the two not delivered Saturday, as the
Yankees entered having lost four of five and in danger of falling a season-high 6½ games back of Boston.
But Tanaka gave up just one run over seven innings and Holliday hit a goahead three-run homer in the sixth off lefty Drew Pomeranz to make it 4-1 in the sixth.
Tanaka has won three straight since returning from the disabled list, pitching seven innings in each game and has a 2.77 ERA since June 23, as he continues to put his horrid first 2 ½ months behind him.
Tanaka said his 10day DL stint last month allowed him to strengthen his arm, and he displayed excellent command of his splitter and slider Saturday.
Though Tanaka struck out just three batters, manager Joe Girardi said that was a product of the Boston lineup’s ability to put the ball in play, and he was pleased to see the right-hander in fine form again. “He’s the guy that’s led our staff the last few years,’’ Girardi said. “We needed to get him back and he’s back on track throwing the ball really well.”
The Red Sox’s lone run came on a Tanaka wild pitch in the sixth, which allowed Eduardo Nunez to scamper home to tie the game at 1-1
Headley had given the Yankees the lead with his 10th homer of the season in the second.
Headley started at third because of his success against Pomeranz, and helped spark the winning rally in the sixth, as his single put runners on the corners with no one out for Holliday.
The DH crushed a three-run homer into the left-field bleachers off Pomeranz to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.
“We missed that,” Girardi said of Holliday’s power. “He was such a great runproducer in the first half.”
Boston manager John Farrell said he kept Pomeranz in the game to face Holliday because he wanted to keep the southpaw in for lefty-swinging Greg Bird, who followed Holliday.
The DH hadn’t played since Aug. 4, sidelined with a lumbar injury, and had not homered since July 15 — also against the Red Sox. He hasn’t been the same since suffering a viral infection in June.
The Yankees need him to rebound, with Aaron Judge unable to turn his second half around and Aaron Hicks going down with a left oblique injury while making a running catch Saturday that figures to cost him some time.
They have a chance to win the series Sunday, with Luis Severino set to face Chris Sale to finish up a 10-game homestand.
“You play all year to give yourself a chance to get hot at the right time,” Headley said. “I think we have the type of team capable of going on a run if we get [to the postseason]. We just need to give ourselves that opportunity.”