GAME 4
: And Tanaka-san caught on quick. On his second pitch, the Melkman officially welcomed Masahiro to the American League East Division. But after two shaky frames, our #4 kept his cool, settled in and earned his first win. Over the the next 5 innings, he retired 12 in a row at one point, striking out 8 overall, with flashes of that nasty split and a sweet breaking ball — one clocked at 71mph!
ON THE MOUND : All told, after 7 strong from Tanaka — our Boone Logan replacement Matt Thornton debuted in fine fashion with a flawless two-batter assignment to start the 8th. Dellin Betances had command issues, but D-Rob (in a non-save situation), put everything to rest in an 11-pitch effort to close it out.
AT THE PLATE : A 16 hit attack with Jacoby Ellsbury, Yangervis Solarte, Ichiro, Kelly Johnson, and Brett Gardner all pitching in. Backstop Brian McCann also added a timely bloop single to left against the shift to knock in a run. And congrats to Dean Anna for a long awaited hit in the big leagues.
YOU’RE KIDDIN’ ME DEPT : Tex down with a hammy strain? What the $%$! If this turns out to be a bad one, no catcher in the Yank’s minor leagues better be making any long range plans, ’cause a trade will be in the works… Update here from Chad Jennings (LoHud)
STATS & RECAPS : Here’s the box score. And recaps from Jorge Castillo at The Star-Ledger, and The Toronto Sun.
NEXT UP : Michael Pineda goes against Blue Jays ace R.A. Dickey.
