Tanaka on way back, but road is pretty long
ANAHEIM — Masahiro Tanaka is a perfectionist, so chances are he will be tinkering on the mound as he readies for his next start on Saturday in Oakland. But at least for now, anyway, there’s no need to ask what’s wrong with Tanaka, or how the Yankees plan to fix it.
On Monday night, the struggling Tanaka posted his best performance since May 26 (when he struck out 13 A’s in the Bronx). The 28-year-old righty overcame a rough start to produce 6.2 solid innings and left with the lead before having to settle for a no-decision in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
His next hurdle: trying to string together two quality outings, which he hasn’t done since April 19 and 27. And after that? How about beating a good team. Tanaka is 1-5 with a 10.13 ERA in seven starts against opponents with winning percentages of .500-plus, compared to 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in six starts against sub-.500 clubs.
“That was encouraging, but we have to build off this,” Joe Girardi said.
Tanaka, who is slated to make $67 million over the next three years if he doesn’t opt out at season’s end, is pitching with a partial tear of his UCL, and had lost his previous five starts while compiling a 10.72 ERA and allowing 11 homers over that span. That’s why the Yankees decided to push him back a day and let him face the Mike Trout-less Angels instead of the more potent Orioles.
“I feel like I did a better job with everything,” said Tanaka, who allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits, walked two and struck out eight (four via his recently ineffective splitter). “I had good concentration on the mound. I felt like I was able to execute all my pitches well.”
The first inning was a problem. It always is. Opponents have a 1.185 OPS against Tanaka in the opening frame. Cole Calhoun, the second batter of the game, destroyed a Tanaka fastball, sending it 407 feet over the wall in center to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. But after walking the next hitter, Albert Pujols, and allowing a leadoff single to Andrelton Simmons in the second, Tanaka retired 13 in a row.
“I actually thought his stuff might’ve been a little bit better today,” Girardi said when asked to compare it with the Oakland start. “His slider and split were probably better today. And he gave up the home run early on a fastball, and that’s the only earned run he gave up tonight, but I thought he threw the ball really well.”
Backup Austin Romine did fine work behind the plate with Tanaka, keeping his catcher’s mitt low and imploring Tanaka to keep his pitches down in the zone.
“He’s effective in the bottom of the zone,” Romine said. “You’ve got a splitter pitcher with a two-seam (fastball) and both are moving down. His slider had been showing up in the middle of the zone. I wanted him to focus down and give him a good target to work with.”
Romine was proud of how Tanaka pitched.
“I thought he took a step forward,” Romine said. “I noticed personally that the split felt a little heavier because he was finishing the pitch, and it was doing what it was supposed to be doing.” anaka, who has admitted to pressing during his recent struggles, didn’t let things fester in the first.
“I think he was able to bear down,” Romine said. “He didn’t let it tumble into, ‘Here we go again.’ I think he said, ‘No, I’m not going to let this happen again,’ and he started finishing his pitches with more purpose behind everything he was doing.”
It was a definitely positive development. But like his manager said, Tanaka needs to build on this and continue to get his confidence and consistency back. On this first-place team, he’s been the biggest problem all year. And it’s going to take much more than just one start to make everyone believe he’s finally righted the ship.
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