Masahiro Tanaka Expected To Start For Yankees Next Week In Seattle
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- All right, let's try this again.
Having made strides in his recovery from an arm problem, ace Masahiro Tanaka appears to be on pace to start for the Yankees against the Mariners in Seattle on either Tuesday or Wednesday, WFAN's Sweeny Murti reported Thursday night.
Pitching in a rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, Tanaka, who has been out since April 23 with right forearm soreness and wrist tendinitis, allowed three earned runs and four hits over three innings against Pawtucket. Despite struggling, the Japanese right-hander got through the 62-pitch outing without any physical setbacks.
"My arm is absolutely fine," Tanaka told the New York Post through an interpreter. "It's just that I was missing some spots today. You always have the good and the bad. You have to fight through the bad times and try to go about your business."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Tanaka reported feeling fine on Thursday and was en route to Oakland. The plan is for pitcher and manager to have a discussion and if Girardi likes what he hears he will let Tanaka start during the team's next series in Seattle.
If Tanaka is given the green light, the Yankees will then decide who comes out of the rotation, Murti reported.
Tanaka, who has been pitching all season with a partially torn ulnar-collateral ligament in his right elbow, an injury that cost him seven weeks of the 2014 season, is 2-1 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts this year for the Yankees.
Despite a recent free fall in which they lost 10 of 11, the Yankees (25-22) are back in first place in the AL East, thanks to a three-game sweep of defending AL champion Kansas City earlier this week.
