Get ready for Tanaka-Ohtani showdown
ARLINGTON, Texas — Barring an injury or rainout that would juggle the schedule, Sunday’s game with the Angels at Yankee Stadium will generate a buzz that starts in The Bronx and lands in Japan. “That game will be watched all over the world,’’ Dellin Betances predicted. With the Angels scheduling Shohei Ohtani to start only on Sundays and Masahiro Tanaka’s regular turn coming Sunday, if things stay that way the Japanese stars will smother the baseball universe and pique the interest of fans everywhere. “It will be exciting. I want to see Ohtani pitch live,’’ said Betances, who could get a chance to face the lefthanded hitter since Ohtani might be the Angels’ DH on Friday. Ohtani doesn’t hit the day before he pitches or the day after. In addition to Tanaka, who allowed four runs on three hits over five innings in the Yankees’ 10-5 victory over the Rangers on Monday night at Globe Life Park, going against Ohtani, there are other subplots.
When Ohtani became a free agent last fall, the Yankees were a heavy favorite to land the two-way star. Then in December after the Yankees made a presentation to the 23-year-old, Ohtani informed them he didn’t want to play on the East Coast and was looking for a smaller market. The Angels landed Ohtani and the Yankees shifted their interest to acquiring slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.
Considering the Yankees have the best record in baseball (31-13) and moved one-half game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East, missing out on Ohtani didn’t hurt as much as it might have.
While the Stadium will be packed, the interest in Japan will be just as intense. NHK will televise the game live at 2 a.m. Monday. According to NHK’s Mai Mizuno, the station’s ratings have increased 10 times since Ohtani started playing for the Angels.
“It will be bigger than last year when Tanaka pitched against [Yu] Darvish,’’ said Kyodo News’ Anri Uechi.
If Ohtani-Tanaka matches what Darvish-Tanaka did last June 23 at the Stadium, fans will be in for a treat. Darvish delivered seven shutout innings, gave up two hits and fanned 10. Tanaka didn’t allow a run in eight frames, gave up three hits and struck out nine. The Yankees won, 2-1, in 10 innings.
Aaron Boone was focused on Tanaka against the Rangers, but understands what Ohtani-Tanaka would mean to the game.
“That would be pretty cool,’’ Boone said. “Obviously, Ohtani has burst on the scene as one of the talks of baseball with what he has been able to do on both sides of the ball. I am sure if that happens it will be fun to be a part of.’’