Masahiro Tanaka is dealing! #Yankees lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th. pic.twitter.com/PgT0F5N1ly
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 18, 2016
The New York Yankees salvaged the series finale at Yankee Stadium behind a solid performance from their ace.
- Boston Red Sox: 1 (51-39)
- New York Yankees: 3 (45-46)
- American League, FINAL, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
If there was such a thing as a drawing board in baseball, this is how Joe Girardi would have sketched out the series finale. After being handled in the first two games by their rivals, the New York Yankees were in a must-win scenario – if there ever was one in July.
With their ace on the mound, they used a formula that amounts to pure beauty when executed effectively. Masahiro Tanaka gave the Yanks six strong frames, the Yankee offense pounded out 11 hits off David Price while squeaking across three runs, and the three-headed monster slammed the door.
Tanaka surrendered a mere three hits while striking out seven as he started his second half in style. The right-hander fired 58 of his 87 pitches for strikes with his only blemish coming on a Dustin Pedroia first inning home run.
Masahiro Tanaka's night is complete:
6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR
Dellin Betances enters.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 18, 2016
Highlights
The Yankees rode a three-run fourth inning to victory in which they broke through with runners in scoring position once and for all.
With Didi Gregorius on first, Starlin Castro ripped a double into the left field corner to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
.@DidiG18 scores on ⭐️-lin's double! #Yankees tie the game at 1 in the 4th.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 18, 2016
.@statcast reports that @DidiG18 went from first to home in 10.106 seconds, and hit a max speed of 20.501 mph.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 18, 2016
Later in the frame, Austin Romine laced a hard two-out RBI single up the middle which scored Castro and gave the Yanks a lead they would not relinquish.
Romine delivers!
His RBI single gives the #Yankees the lead. #LetsGoYankees
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 18, 2016
With that said, the offense did not stop there. Another two-out RBI came off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, who lined a single to left-center to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
The hits keep coming!@JacobyEllsbury's RBI single extends the #Yankees lead to 3-1. #LetsGoYankees
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/BBTN/status/754853531648163840
After Tanaka held Boston in check, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman each did their part in shutting down the final three frames.
Chapman induced a Hanley Ramirez double play grounder to end it.
Ballgame.@Yankees def. Red Sox 3-1 as Chapman earns save #18 & Tanaka picks up his 7th win! Postgame next on YES. pic.twitter.com/jTAWGGZl5d
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 18, 2016
New York avoids the sweep! Masahiro Tanaka earns his 7th win of the season in Yankees' 3-1 victory over Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/BtX1Azh4PH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 18, 2016
The Extra Day
With the stellar performance, Masahiro Tanaka improved to 5-0 when given an extra day of rest this season. Moreover, his ERA is a brilliant 1.10 on five days rest as opposed to a 5.33 on normal rest.
The Yankee ace has been faced with each of those scenarios in eight starts this year.
While the common answer is that he will simply have to improve in those situations, the Yankees should be in search of every possible opportunity to hand him an extra day. The sample size is no joke at this point.
What’s Next?
The Yankees will welcome the first-place Baltimore Orioles to the Bronx as the two teams begin a four-game set.
Ivan Nova (6-6, 5.18 ERA) will oppose Kevin Gausman (1-6, 4.15 ERA) in the series opener.
First pitch will commence at 7:05 pm ET from Yankee Stadium. The game can be seen on YES and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM. Stay tuned to ESNY for an in-depth pregame with all you need to know ahead of the division clash.