Yankees game 54: Tanaka returns in dominant form
Masahiro Tanaka made his return and did not miss a step, going seven strong to help complete a series sweep in Seattle.
New York Yankees 3 – Seattle Mariners 1
Today marked the return of Masahiro Tanaka and what a return it was.
In the getaway day game finale, Tanaka cruised through the first two innings, generating three ground outs and three strikeouts.
For the Mariners, Taijuan Walker took the mound and had a harmless first inning but the Yankees got to him in the second. Mark Teixeira delivered his 16th home run of the season to right field to give the Yankees the one-run lead.
After the two scoreless innings and the lead, Tanaka hit a bump in the road. Brad Miller got the Mariners their first hit and it was a good one, leading off the third inning with a triple. Dustin Ackley followed one hard extra-base hit with another, hitting a run-scoring double over the head of left fielder Ramon Flores. Tanaka got the next out on strikes but needed some help from his defense for the next out. Logan Morrison hit a single to left field but Flores prevented it from becoming a run-scoring hit. Flores got Ackley out at home with an accurate throw home, easily nailing the Mariners left fielder at home.
In the fourth inning, last night's tiebreaker did it once again. With one on and two out, Garrett Jones hit his second home run in as many games, a two-run home run to right field that gave the Yankees a two-run lead.
After the single by Morrison that featured Flores' accurate arm, Tanaka easily returned to form. He retired the last 13 batters he faced, five on strikeouts and four on ground outs. He was expected to be on an 80-pitch count limit and he made the most of it.
In seven innings, Tanaka allowed one run on three hits while walking none and striking out nine. He threw 78 pitches, 58 for strikes.
After seven scoreless, Chris Capuano replaced Tanaka on the mound. In his first relief appearance of the year, Capuano gave up a single and got one out on strikes before Andrew Miller got the call for a five-out save.
Control eluded Miller upon entering today's game. He hit pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks before walking catcher Mike Zunino to load the bases. He rebounded by getting Morrison to strike out and Austin Jackson to ground out, preserving the save in the eighth inning.
With the two-run lead, Miller returned to the mound and looked more like the dominant reliever we have gotten used to. Robinson Cano struck out swinging and Nelson Cruz went down looking for the first two outs. Kyle Seager reached on a single but Justin Ruggiano grounded out to complete the sweep to finish off the West Coast road trip.
Brian McCann exited today's game in the second inning with a sore right foot. Notably, McCann was the only catcher for Tanaka since joining the Yankees but Murphy and Tanaka put together a stellar outing.
Win – Masahiro Tanaka (3-1)
Loss – Taijuan Walker (2-6)
Save – Andrew Miller (17)
Notables
Yankees
*Garrett Jones – 1 for 3, R, Two-run home run (3) in the 4th, 2 RBI (9)
*Mark Teixeira – 1 for 4, R, Solo home run (16) in the 2nd, RBI (41)
Mariners
*Dustin Ackley – 1 for 2, 2B, RBI (11)
*Brad Miller – 1 for 4, 3B
Current Yankees Record: 29-25