With Luis Severino missing a majority of the regular season for the New York Yankees, starters like Masahiro Tanaka have been forced to pick up some of the load.
The Japanese born player has been one of the more consistent options for the Yankees in recent years, but this season he has struggled at times. That is why his performance against the Toronto Blue Jays was significant for his momentum heading towards the postseason.
“It was really big because if we were in any kind of leverage spot in the middle or late part of the game we were only going Britton, Chappy today. We wanted to stay away from [Luis] Cessa and Nestor [Cortes Jr.],’’ Boone said after the 1-0 Yankees victory. “It was just what the doctored ordered. Masa came out and was really pitch efficient, especially in the middle innings he was cruising, and we needed it.’’
Changing the narrative after allowing 48 hits, nine home runs, and 13 walks in 31 2/3 innings between July 29-August 5 was essential for the starter.
Tanaka is capable of being the ace for the Yankees, especially in the postseason where he has an average ERA of 1.50. In five playoff games, he has pitched 30 total innings allowing five runs and three homers. He has 25 strikeouts during that span.
The Yankees needed him to turn around his porous season, and blanking the Blue Jays over eight innings was the perfect way to turn the tables. While Tanaka is no longer viewed as the ace of the rotation, he has the potential to rise to the occasion and dominate once the post-season rolls around. If Severino is unable to return to his past form in the first half of the 2018 season, the Yankees will need to rely on options like Masahiro and Domingo German.