Yankees Highlights: Masahiro Tanaka tosses a gem, offense no-shows

Following last night’s exciting walk-off victory, the Yankees and Rays had a pitchers’ duel going today. Masahiro Tanaka and Blake Snell both pitched well. The Bombers had a 1-0 lead for awhile, thanks to a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Tampa Bay tied up the game, however, and forced it to extra innings. The Yankees had a chance to walk it off again today, but blew it. The offense was quiet most of the game, which is a shame because it’ll likely be Chance Adams on the mound tomorrow. We’ll have a full recap up shortly, but here are some highlights in the meantime.

Winner of the Game

Masahiro Tanaka pitched an absolute gem. He tossed six innings of three-hit ball, didn’t allow a run, didn’t walk a batter, and recorded six strikeouts. After giving up a two-out double to Ji-Man Choi in the sixth, he also deflected a Yandy Diaz groundball that probably would have tied up the game. Instead, the ball bounced off of Tanaka’s right shin and rolled perfectly to first base to end the top half of the inning. Hopefully he is okay! The YES booth reported X-rays came back negative.

Loser of the Game

The long ball killed the bullpen today. Working with a 1-0 lead, Tommy Kahnle entered the game in the seventh and promptly surrendered a solo shot to Brandon Lowe. Then Luis Cessa gave up a home run to Austin Meadows to give Tampa the lead once and for all. Sigh.

Honorable Mention: Gary Sanchez struck out four times, then grounded into a double play to end the game. Double sigh.

Chart

Source: FanGraphs