For Tanaka, sinker is slow adjustment
TAMPA — The numbers tell a big part of the story for Masahiro Tanaka this spring.
With a 1.74 ERA, 12 strikeouts and one walk over 10.1 innings in his first three starts, it’s been a successful month for Tanaka, who is pitching with a small tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
As good as the statistics have been, his velocity has been a tick below normal, raising a few eyebrows. Turns out it’s been part of the plan all along.
“I’m not really worried about how fast my fastball is,” Tanaka said through a translator. “The reason for the 88, 89, 90, is that I’m throwing two-seamers. “I’m doing this on purpose.” It’s difficult to remember many hard-hit balls given up by Tanaka during the first half last year, as he went 11-1 with a 1.99 ERA in his first 14 starts. He was knocked around a bit when the calendar turned to July, although he was soon diagnosed with the ligament tear, putting him on the shelf for more than two months.
Still, Tanaka and pitching coach Larry Rothschild felt the four-seam fastball wasn’t as effective as some of his other pitches, leading them to the decision to work on the two-seamer — also known as a sinker — this spring.
“It’s not going to hurt him to have another type of fastball in the mix,” Rothschild said. “With his location, it can be an effective pitch.”
It’s possible that Tanaka could also be trying to protect his elbow, not wanting to air it out as hard as he did before the injury. The Yankees have already taken measures to give him an extra day of rest between starts this spring, so perhaps he’s trying to be pro-active when it comes to any strain on the elbow.
“I’m trying to relax as much as I can when I’m throwing,” Tanaka said. “Maybe it might look different because I was trying to throw too, too hard last year during this time.”
Last year’s numbers do back up Tanaka’s assertion that his four-seamer was far from effective. According to the Brooks Baseball website, which keeps detailed pitch-tracking information, opposing hitters batted .337 with a .633 slugging percentage against the four-seamer, while his sinker produced a .314 average and .495 slugging percentage. By comparison, Tanaka’s slider left opponents hitting .171 with a .261 slugging percentage, and his splitter was hit for a .157 average and .209 slugging percentage.
“There were some times he gave up hard-hit balls on four-seamers, yes,” Joe Girardi said. “I think there’s room for both of them. Four-seam you’re going to see more (velocity); might be something you climb the ladder with, do some different things. But sometimes you get quick outs with sinkers, and there’s more movement. He’s just trying to improve his game.”
Despite the decreased velocity, Tanaka has allowed only six hits this spring, four of them coming in Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to the Mets at Steinbrenner Field. He allowed an unearned run in the first, then hung a curveball in the fourth that John Mayberry Jr. drilled over the left-field wall.
Tanaka was one out away from completing five innings when he tried to air out a few fastballs against Matt Reynolds. The first two were strikes, but Reynolds hit his final offering — a 93 mph four-seamer — for a double.
“He knew what he was doing and the purpose that he had behind it,” Rothschild said.
If that purpose was to see whether he could blow a straight fastball by Reynolds, the answer was no. Of course, during the season he likely would have unleashed his trademark splitter on an 0-2 count.
Reynolds came around to score on Juan Lagares’ home run off Dellin Betances, closing the book on Tanaka’s line. He was charged with three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk, striking out seven.
“Overall I liked the way I pitched out there,” said Tanaka, who threw 47 of his 59 pitches for strikes. “I think I was able to get into it more than the other two games. I felt the intensity more.”
Tanaka will make one more start this spring, on Tuesday in Fort Myers against the Twins. After that, his next assignment will be Opening Day on April 6, although the Yankees still haven’t made that official.
“I think he’s done well,” Rothschild said. “He’s healthy, that’s the biggest thing.”