For the second start in a row, Masahiro Tanaka was simply fantastic, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 bounce-back victory.
- New York Yankees 3 (82-42)
- Cleveland Indians 2 (73-50)
- AL, Final, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Masa is BACK back pic.twitter.com/sTSGoOPuqP
— James Kelly (@jkellyESNY) August 17, 2019
That’s right, the Masahiro Tanaka we know and love is officially back.
Tanaka was absolutely dealing against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. The Yankees needed a big bounce-back win after a thrashing on Thursday, and Tanaka gave them exactly what they needed.
He tossed 6.1 innings, allowing only two earned runs on four hits. His splitter and slider were sharp, earning him ten ground ball outs. Solo home runs by Jose Ramirez and Yasiel Puig were the only marks on an otherwise flawless game.
On the other side of the ball, the Yankees offense was rather quiet for most of the night.
Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman combined to secure the win.
Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres both hit RBI singles in the first inning.
https://twitter.com/MattHanifan_/status/1162505969231810560?s=20
.@TorresGleyber drives in @DidiG18 and it's 2-0 @Yankees! #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/gIwA6WmqxI
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 16, 2019
In the fifth inning, Gio Urshela knocked Aaron Judge in on a single to right field and an error by Puig.
https://twitter.com/MattHanifan_/status/1162523161050542080?s=20
Urshela put together yet another multi-hit game, his sixth in the last seven games.
However, Judge’s performance highlighted the night for the offense. Obviously, he’s been in a massive slump for a few weeks, but on Friday night, he went 2-for-3 with a walk. Those two hits came on absolute rockets, a single to left and a double to right.
If Judge is finally starting to break out of this slump, Major League Baseball is in some serious trouble.
Savage of the Game — Masahiro Tanaka
Ever since he debuted his new splitter grip, Tanaka has been getting progressively better. The more comfortable he gets with it, the more fans will see this “vintage” Tanaka. Giving up two runs on four hits is a savage performance and as such, Tanaka is the “Savage of the Game”.
