Yankees best Mets, but Tanaka hurting
Leading off third base for the first time in his big-league career, Masahiro Tanaka heard coach Phil Nevin yell for him to tag up when Aaron Judge lofted a 264-foot flyball to Mets right fielder Jay Bruce in the sixth inning of Friday night’s Subway Series opener. The 29-year-old Yankees pitcher dashed home, needing 15 strides to cover the 90 feet to the plate as he tied the score with his first majorleague run.
It may have been a costly effort.
Tanaka felt tightness in both hamstrings and was replaced before the bottom of the inning. The visiting Yankees went on to win 4-1 behind Brett Gardner’s tie-breaking, two-run homer off Jacob deGrom on an eighthinning changeup, and Giancarlo Stanton’s ninth-inning solo shot against Paul Sewald.
“I feel it right now,” Tanaka, speaking through a translator, said in front of his clubhouse stall a half-hour after the final out. “I think we’ll probably have a clearer picture tomorrow.”
The Yankees, a big league-best 41-18, already lost No. 5 starter Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery on Thursday. Tanaka is 7-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 13 starts.
Tanaka was given an IV after he came out and may be sent for an MRI exam on Saturday. Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn’t sure if Tanaka would miss a start.
Dodgers 7, Braves 3: Starting pitcher Walker Buehler dominated before being pulled with rib soreness, and Los Angeles overcame another blow to its injury-depleted pitching staff by hitting five home runs to beat visiting Atlanta. Yasmani Grandal went deep twice, and Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger also homered to help the Dodgers win their sixth in seven games. Indians 4, Tigers 1: Jason Kipnis hit a go-ahead, threerun homer in the ninth inning to give visiting Cleveland the win. Jose Ramirez almost broke the tie earlier in the ninth, hitting a shot just past the right-field foul pole, but ended up drawing a walk. Yonder Alonso singled with two outs before Kipnis’ homer. Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 4: Paul Goldschmidt continued his sizzling June with two long home runs and a double to help visiting Arizona beat Colorado. It was Goldschmidt’s second straight game with at least three hits. Jake Lamb and David Peralta also homered for Arizona.
Angels 4, Twins 2: Ian Kinsler hit a two-run home run for the lead in the seventh inning and Justin Upton went deep in the eighth, powering visiting Los Angeles past Minnesota. Cardinals 7, Reds 6: Jose Martinez homered twice off Matt Harvey, and Jedd Gyorko singled home the tie-breaking run in the 10th inning as visiting St. Louis rallied for the win.
Astros 7, Rangers 3: Justin Verlander struck out nine in seven innings after Shin-Soo Choo homered on the Houston ace’s first pitch of the game, and the visiting Astros beat Texas. George Springer had a two-run double, and Jose Altuve hit two-run homer for Houston.
Brewers 12, Phillies 4: Ryan Braun homered twice and drove in five runs, and visiting Milwaukee busted out of an offensive funk to snap a three-game losing streak. Braun, who came in batting .229, hit a three-run shot in the first and a two-run blast in the fourth.
Marlins 4, Padres 0: Caleb Smith pitched into the sixth inning and had an RBI single for his first career hit to help host Miami beat San Diego. Smith gave up four hits in 51⁄3 innings.
Mariners 4, Rays 3: Marco Gonzales won his fourth straight start and Seattle won for the 16th time in 20 games. Gonzales (7-3) gave up two runs and five hits in 71⁄3 innings. Christian Arroyo had a solo homer in the fifth and C.J. Cron added a two-run shot for the host Rays.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1: J.A. Happ allowed two hits in seven innings to earn his 100th career victory, and host Toronto won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month. Russell Martin homered and drove in two runs for Toronto. Randal Grichuk and Kevin Pillar also homered for the Blue Jays.
Cubs 3, Pirates 1: Kris Bryant had three hits and scored a run while batting leadoff for the first time in his career and Ian Happ made a spectacular diving catch in the left-field corner to end the game for host Chicago.
White Sox 1, Red Sox 0: Trayce Thompson had an RBI single in the seventh inning off Chris Sale and Dylan Covey pitched six innings as part of a three-hitter for visiting Chicago. Covey (2-1) more than kept pace with former White Sox ace Sale (5-4).