New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out seven batters, walked none and threw 76 of 108 pitches for strikes in a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13.Gregory Fisher
With New York closer to missing out on a wild-card berth than winning the American League East, Masahiro Tanaka pitched like the ace the Yankees needed him to be.
Tanaka allowed four hits over seven innings Sunday, and the Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0, ending a five-game losing streak.
"Today is a great example of what the formula is," Alex Rodriguez said. "Strong pitching, get the ball to our strong bullpen and hit the ball out of the park."
Dustin Ackley homered and had three runs batted in and left fielder Brett Gardner made two excellent catches for the Yankees, who closed back within 3 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Blue Jays with 20 games left.
Toronto had won the first three of the four-game series, but the Yankees sent R.A. Dickey (10-11) to his first loss since before the all-star break. The Blue Jays and Yankees play three more times in Toronto from Sept. 21 to 23.
Tanaka (12-6) struck out seven, walked none and threw 76 of 108 pitches for strikes.
"I had a sense of having some of the better stuff early on in the game," Tanaka said through an interpreter.
He is 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his last four starts.
"I just try to be resilient, not give in, and attack," Tanaka said. "My mindset was I'm not going to let these guys sweep us."
On Aug. 15, he beat the Blue Jays with a five-hitter in Toronto.
"He was good again today," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's been tough on us."
Ackley, starting over rookie Greg Bird because he was 4 for 11 against Dickey coming in, homered for the first time since July 8 for Seattle against Detroit.
"To be able to contribute, that's the most important thing," Ackley said.
New York went ahead in the second on sacrifice flies by Ackley and Didi Gregorius. Ackley, acquired from the Mariners on July 30, hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Rodriguez added a run-scoring double in the eighth that chased Dickey.
Rodriguez was honoured by the Yankees before the game for his 3,000th hit on June 19, another step in the thawing of the formerly icy relationship between A-Rod and his team stemming from his one-year drug suspension and litigation when he tried to avoid discipline.
Rodriguez scored on Didi Gregorius's second-inning sacrifice fly, coming home on a headfirst slide, just under catcher Josh Thole's tag. Rodriguez thrust his hands in the air in celebration.
"Maybe it was the video he saw with his first base hit and how fast he was," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's a great hustle play."
The 40-year-old Rodriguez joked about the decline of his speed.
"That's how the slowest man in baseball looks," he said. "I was excited. It's an important game."
Rodriguez added a run-scoring double in the eighth that chased Dickey, again showing excitement while standing on second.
The Blue Jays said before the game that all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will miss at least two weeks after cracking his left shoulder blade in a collision during the opener of Saturday's doubleheader. Edwin Encarnacion was held out after aggravating a finger injury Saturday.
Dickey gave up five runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings. The knuckleballer had been 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA in 11 starts since losing at the Chicago White Sox on July 9.