Tanaka pitches hot Yankees to win over Rays
NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 in 7 1/3 outstanding innings, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez homered in a span of four pitches with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth inning as the surging New York Yankees ran their winning streak to a season-high seven games with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Tanaka (13-4) won his sixth straight decision and has not lost since Aug. 2. Since then, the Yankees are 23-12 are now three games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.
Tanaka allowed one run and five hits, recorded his seventh career double-digit strikeout game and did not issue a walk for the 10th time. He had two strikeouts in each of the first five innings and most of his strikeouts were on his split-fingered fastball.
The right-hander's outing helped out the bullpen which did not have Luis Severino and closer Dellin Betances. It also occurred after 11 different relievers were used for a span of 24 2/3 innings during the previous six games.
Tanaka's most significant trouble occurred when the game was still scoreless. Logan Forsythe opened the sixth with a long double, was sacrificed to third by Nick Franklin but remained there due to a outstanding defensive play by right fielder Rob Refsnyder.
Refsnyder fielded Evan Longoria's liner in one motion, stayed on his feet and quickly made the throw to the plate preventing Forsythe from scoring.
Tanaka then completed the inning and threw only six pitches in the seventh before losing the shutout with one out in the eighth when Bobby Wilson's sixth home run barely cleared the left-field wall. After grazing Forsythe with a pitch, Adam Warren hit Nick Franklin on the foot but ended the eighth by getting Longoria to bounce into a double play.
Shortly after Refsnyder's defensive play, the Yankees went ahead against Chris Archer. Brett Gardner opened the sixth with a single and drew three pickoff throws.
One pitch after the last pickoff attempt, Ellsbury made it 2-0 by driving a full-count fastball into the right-center field seats. Sanchez followed Ellsbury's eighth home run by driving a 1-1 pitch into the visiting bullpen beyond the left-center field fence.
Sanchez drove in New York's final run with a sacrifice fly. With runners at second and third, the Rays appeared to call for the intentional walk, but Sanchez hit a pitch over the outside corner of the plate to the warning track in center field.
Ellsbury tagged on Sanchez's sacrifice fly and scored the final run on Didi Gregorius' sacrifice fly.
Archer (8-17) tied Tanyon Sturtze's 2002 team record for losses by allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings. He has dropped his last five decisions to the Yankees after winning his first five.
NOTES: Tampa Bay SS Matt Duffy (left heel) underwent successful surgery Friday afternoon. He will in a splint and on crutches for 2 1/2 weeks and is expected to make a complete recovery by spring training. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda appeared frustrated at being taken out one out shy of qualifying for a victory Friday and manager Joe Girardi said he did not think Pineda was showing him up by staring blankly. ... Rays LHP Justin Marks is the third pitcher to pitch three scoreless and hitless innings and issue at least five walks according to baseballreference.com. The others were Pat Zachary for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 4, 1984 versus Cincinnati and Walter Anderson with the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago White Sox on May 14, 1917. ... Five of New York's minor league affiliates have made postseason play and Friday Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre clinched a berth to the Governors' Cup Championship Series.