Pressure on Tanaka mounts
BALTIMORE — Watching Michael Pineda get beat up by the Rays on Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., didn’t shock anybody who has been paying attention.
However, when the Rays slapped Masahiro Tanaka around on Opening Day, that opened eyes.
“I can say in the three years he has been here, it’s probably the most unusual start I have ever seen him have,’’ manager Joe Girardi said Friday before losing to the Orioles, of Tanaka’s 2 2/3 inning stint, in which he gave up seven runs and eight hits in a 7-3 loss Sunday. “I know he had a rough one in Cleveland last year. To not see the command is something we had never seen before.’’
Since Tanaka had made 17 starts when he faced the Indians on July 10, not much was made of him going a season-low 4 2/3 innings and giving up a season-high 10 hits and seven runs (another season-high even if only three were earned). And the Yankees won the game, 11-5. So no alarms went off.
However, the buzz of Opening Day caught the attention of people.
“I am sure he is dying to get out there,’’ Girardi said of his ace, who faces the Orioles on Saturday at Camden Yards.
Tanaka mentioned flawed mechanics as a problem he believes has been corrected during between-starts work in the bullpen.
“More than anything it was trying to avoid the body flying open too soon,’’ Tanaka said. “I tried to not let the body fly open.’’
If the Yankees have any chance of contending in the AL East, they need a big year from Tanaka, which was made painfully obvious Friday night in Baltimore. Behind him in the rotation there are large question marks.
CC Sabathia’s season debut Tuesday went well, with the veteran lefty producing five shutout innings in a 5-0 win over the Rays. However, Sabathia is 36. While his surgically repaired right knee hasn’t given him a problem, health is always a concern with older hurlers.
Even if Sabathia has a solid season, look what follows him.
Next comes Pineda, who has been bad far too long for the Yankees to truly believe his electric stuff is going to turn him into a winner. After that, Luis Severino, who started Friday night against the Orioles, is a mystery. The Yankees don’t need a fifth starter until April 16 and that will be filled by Jordan Montgomery, Chad Green or Luis Cessa.
So, it’s no secret the Yankees need Tanaka to pitch like an ace — and even then that might not be enough.
“Mentally, you want to go out there as quick as possible, get some positive results and move forward,’’ Tanaka said about getting the ball after a rough start.
Asked about a report nuked by the Yankees that stated the club won’t re-sign him if he opts out of a contract after this season, Tanaka said he addressed that in spring training and had nothing new to say on the matter.