Yankees Spring Training Game 21: Tanaka strong in second start

Atlanta Braves 4 -- New York Yankees 7

Masahiro Tanaka got his second start of the Spring, this time against the Atlanta Braves. He would get a ground out and a single to start the inning but he would bounce back with a pair of strikeouts of Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton. Tanaka would face some trouble but the only run he allowed came in the fourth inning.

In 4.1 innings, Masahiro Tanaka was marvelous, striking out six Braves while walking two and allowing one run on three hits.

The Yankees offense would start strong with a leadoff double and a single that put runners on the corners with no one out. Julio Teheran would settle down with strikeouts of Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson to keep the Yankees off the board. Three singles in the second inning, finished by an Ichiro Suzuki run-scoring single put the Yankees ahead.

With the game tied at one, at least one of the likely lefty relievers in the Yankees bullpen took over the game after Tanaka, Matt Thornton. He would continue to struggle this Spring with a double by Jason Heyward and a single by B.J. Upton to bring in the go-ahead run. The Braves would respond in similar fashion with their lefty reliever, who would give up a pair of walks to start the bottom of the fifth inning.Former Brave Brian McCann would stick it to his former team with a two-run double to give the Yankees the lead. Kelly Johnson and Ramon Flores would hit a pair of singles to bring in another run . Three more runs would come across home plate for the Yankees and before the inning was over, the Yankees had a 7-2 lead.

With some room to work, the Yankees bullpen would right the ship, starting with Shawn Kelley. He would strikeout two of the three batters he faced in his scoreless inning of work. Shane Greene would follow in the sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts of his own. Greene would strikeout the next two batters he faced in the eighth inning before Justin Upton got a hold of a fastball and hit a moonshot to make it a 7-3 game. Dellin Betances would get the nod for the ninth inning and after getting the first out, created some trouble with a walk, a hit batter and a single to load the bases. He would allow a run on a groundout but he kept the win intact as he finished off the game with a strikeout to send the Yankees fans home happy.