HE’S BOSTON’S LATEST ‘IDIOT’
Napoli blasts Tanaka with bat & mouth
MASAHIRO TANAKA went from brilliant to “idiot” in a single pitch on Saturday night.
The Yankees’ rookie ace had the Red Sox almost completely befuddled at the Stadium, a single strike away from holding them to a single run through nine innings. Then, in a tie game, he shook off catcher Brian McCann’s signs for his two biggest weapons — first a split-finger fastball and then a slider — to go with a fastball to Mike Napoli that was supposed to miss the strike zone outside.
The 96-mph heater — his fastest pitch of the night — did not miss the strike zone and Napoli did not miss it. The Boston first baseman hit a laser into the first rows of the right-field stands, sending the Red Sox to a 2-1 win before 48,433. “What an idiot!” Napoli hollered twice as he descended into the Boston dugout and a sea of high-fives, television cameras and audio relayed.
Asked about the outburst afterward, Napoli said, “Nothing towards him — I thought he would throw me a splitter in the dirt.”
And why wouldn’t Tanaka throw it? It had been his most effective pitch all night, and Napoli said he’d been fooled by it on two strikeouts already. “I just wanted to go hard outside. I wanted to show the batter a fastball there, even if it was not in the strike zone but try to go ball there and show him that fastball,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. “I wanted to set up for a (splitter) after the fastball.”
Napoli is one of the better fastball hitters in the game and he got to this one deep in the strike zone — “he barreled it up,” McCann said — to drive it to the opposite field. “It was the worst thing I could have possibly done,” Tanaka said.
This was the first time that Tanaka (11-3) had been beaten in consecutive starts. Boston was the fourth team to face him for a second time this season and Tanaka now has lost in three of those games. But this was about one error in judgment, not about Boston figuring him out. Tanaka gave up only David Ross’ homer to left in the third inning before that and held the Red Sox to 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s tough to give up two solo home runs and lose the game — and give up one with two out and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning,” Joe Girardi said. “He made a mistake with a fastball. He didn’t get it where he wanted. He did have a lot of success with his split. . . . You have to live with it and learn from it.”
When Tanaka shook off McCann twice, the catcher didn’t consider going to the mound to discuss the next pitch. “There is no wrong pitch with Tanaka. Every pitch he throws is the right pitch,” McCann said. “He’s in full control of what he’s doing. It was a great pitching performance. The ball he hit out was 96 on the black. . . . It was behind him and he barreled it.”
The Yankees didn’t do much with their last chance, going down in order as Sox closer Koji Uehara notched his 17th save.
Napoli is a true Yankee-killer. In 25 games against the Bombers since coming to Boston before the 2013 season, he is batting .341 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI. Before Napoli’s blast, Tanaka and Jon Lester (9-7) put on a superb pitchers’ duel. Tanaka allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out eight, although this was the fifth straight start in which he has allowed a home run.
Lester, who didn’t allow a hit through the first five innings, ended up going eight frames and allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six.
Ross’ homer — also on a fastball — put Boston on the board first. The Yanks evened it up in the third by scoring without the benefit of a hit. Brian Roberts reached first base on a Stephen Drew fielding error and went to second when Yangervis Solarte was hit by a pitch. After Brett Gardner sacrificed them into scoring position, Derek Jeter got the run in with a groundout.
The Red Sox mounted a serious threat in the fourth when Dustin Pedroia led off with a single and David Ortiz followed with a double, both to right. Tanaka rose to the occasion and might have been at his very best right there as he stranded both runners. First, he fanned Napoli on a 91-mph split-finger fastball. Then he whiffed Drew on a 90mph splitter. And he finished by getting Xander Bogaerts to ground out.
Mike Napoli throws gasoline on simmering Yank-Red Sox rivalry, screaming ‘What an idiot!’ for world to hear on TV after taking Masahiro Tanaka (inset) deep in 9th for go-ahead blast in Boston’s 2-1 win. Weak backtrack afterward might do little to keep Yanks from seeking retribution.