It is up to Masahiro Tanaka (6-1, 2.69 ERA) to split the series with the White Sox at two games each as he goes up against Andre Rienzo (4-0, 4.00 ERA) in the series finale. In his last outing, Tanaka did something he hasn’t done since August 19th, 2012, he lost. His undefeated streak came to an end against the Cubs of all teams when they tagged him for four runs (three earned) in six frames in a 6-1 loss. However, he has racked up 73 K’s through his first nine starts, spanning 64 innings.
“I try to go out there to be my best every time out, but given the outing last time, yes, I really want to go out there and perform better,” Tanaka said. “It’s crazy,” Joe Girardi said. “We’ll see how he handles it, but I’m sure he’ll handle it well, just like he has everything else. Maybe it’ll make him mad, and he’ll roll out 44 straight now.”
Rienzo struck out a career high eight batters in a 7-6 win against the Royals on Tuesday allowing just two runs in six innings, and moved to 4-0 on the season. He said the key to his recent success has been the ability to attack the zone with all three of his pitches, fastball, cutter and curveball. He’s also said he is more relaxed than last season since he has a year under his belt in the Majors. “Yeah, I try to feel relaxed,” Rienzo said. “Last year, I was too anxious at times, and I thought too much about things that already happened. Second inning I would have given up two runs, last year I thought too much about that. So this year, I try to forget and move on.”
Brian Roberts wasn’t in Saturday’s lineup after fouling a pitch off his right knee on Friday. X-Rays taken on Friday came back negative and Girardi isn’t too concerned. “Any time you hit something off your kneecap, you worry about it; you’re concerned you could have a crack or it could shatter,” Girardi said. “It’s a sensitive area, but for the most part, he feels pretty decent. He’s sore, but there’s really no swelling. Hopefully, we won’t need him and he’ll be a player tomorrow.”
Notes on the game
The White Sox bullpen has allowed seven earned runs in eight innings this series (7.88 ERA).
Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting .311 in 33 career games against the White Sox.
The Yankees are 3-1 in extra inning games this season.
First pitch at 2:10 PM on Yes
