Hiro, save the day
Yankees call upon Masahiro to pull them back from the brink
Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound with the Yankees’ season on the line tonight in Game 3 in The Bronx.
Masahiro Tanaka will make his 107th — and perhaps final — start for the Yankees on Sunday night. None has been more important as the Yankees turn to the right-hander one loss away from a season-ending sweep by the Indians in the ALDS. “As far as feeling the pressure going into [Sunday’s] game, obviously, yes, there is pressure, but that can’t put me away from what I need to do on the mound,” Tanaka said through an interpreter Saturday at Yankee Stadium, where he prepared to face Cleveland. Tanaka will be called upon not just to extend the Yankees’ season, but also to help the team get over the crushing loss in Game 2 in Cleveland on Friday, when they blew a five-run lead in brutal fashion before falling in 13 innings. The Yankees could use another outing like the one he gave them in his last regular season start, when Tanaka struck out a career-reer-high 15 batters in seven shutout innings against Toronto.
Of course, he won’t be facing a Blue Jays lineup that was playing out the string, already having been eliminated from playoff contention.
Instead, Tanaka will be up against a Cleveland offense that showed how potent it could be by storming back against the Yankees bullpen in Friday’s win, when Francisco Lindor took Chad Green deep for a grand slam and Jay Bruce tied the game off of David Robertson.
“We need him to ppitch like he pitched the other dday,” Joe Gi-rardi said. “This is a team that’s going to grind out at-bats, and he needs to grind out at-bats with them.”
Tanaka also will be pitching on eight days’ rest. In seven starts on six or more days’ rest this season, he was 3-3 with a 4.60 ERA, but Girardi opted to go that route over bringing Luis Severino back on regular rest af-ter he threw just 29 pitches in his ugly outing against the Twins in the wild-card game, in which he retired just one batter.
Tanaka’s only other postseason appearance in the majors came two years ago, when he gave up two runs in five innings in a 3-0 loss to Houston, Ho outpitched pitched by Dallas Keuchel. The 28-year-old said he learned from that experience and other importantportant games he has pitched in since then. The Yankees hope to provide mmore support for him against right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who has given up more than one run just once in his past seven starts.
Just before that stretch began, though, the Yankees got to Carrasco for five runs in 5 2/3 innings.
In 11 career appearances against the Yankees, Carrasco is 4-5 with a 4.12 ERA, while Tanaka is 1-2 with a 4.63 ERA in four starts against the Indians — none this season.
Despite the lackluster numbers, Cleveland manager Terry Francona is wary of Tanaka and took more from his dominance in his last outing than the upand-down nature of his entire season.
“His last start was up,” Francona said. “Very up. He’s been a little inconsistent this year, mostly in the first half. [In the] second half, he’s been much better, and his last start was really good. … When he has power to his pitches, but also [his] split … it can be a huge weapon for him.”
As for his future, Tanaka can opt out of the remaining three years and $67 million on his contract following this season.
Once again Saturday, he declined to discuss any future plans.
“I’ve mentioned this from Day 1 [of spring training]: I’ll have the whole offseason to think about what I’ll do moving forward,” Tanaka said. “And that has not changed.”
It’s up to Tanaka to make sure the offseason doesn’t begin Sunday night.