Tanaka's elbow was a point of contention throughout the offseason and spring training, but early returns indicate that he can be just as effective in 2015. He has lost a little velocity on his fastball and isn't throwing his devastating splitter as often so far this but he is coming off seven sharp shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays five days ago.
Masahiro Tanaka shoots for a third straight win when he leads the New York Yankees into the finale of a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Tanaka was roughed up in his season debut on April 6 versus Toronto and yielded five runs -- four earned -- in four innings of a 6-1 loss. Tanaka rebounded six days later in a 14-4 drubbing of Boston and lasted five innings, allowing four runs (3 earned) and four hits.
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The Japanese right-hander shined in Saturday's 9-0 beatdown of Tampa Bay and delivered seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball. He struck out a season-high eight batters and did not issue a walk. He walked five batters and fanned 10 in his first two outings.
Tanaka will make his first appearance against the Tigers and hopes to get as much run support as Adam Warren did in Wednesday's 13-4 rout of Detroit.
Anibal Sanchez has had recent issues of his own, but the trajectory of his 2015 season is the exact opposite of Tanaka's. After a scoreless outing to start the year, Sanchez has given up 14 runs on 17 hits in his last two starts. This includes five home runs, one more than his entire 2014 total.
Sanchez was adamant that he is not injured, nor does he feel any pain stemming from last season's shoulder issue that sidelined him in the second half. Instead, it seems to be a mechanical issue.
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Hitter to fear: Carlos Beltran (.333/.333/.476 in 24 plate appearances)
Hitter to fail: Alex Rodriguez (.000/.000/.000 in 6 plate appearances)
Sanchez has not seen much of the Yankees since putting on a Tigers uniform. He too was sidelined when these two teams faced off last August, and he only made one start against them in 2013, holding them to two runs in seven innings. His outing against them in the 2012 regular season wasn't pretty -- he gave up seven runs in three innings -- but he bounced back to throw seven shutout innings in the 2012 ALCS. The current Yankees roster has struggled against him, hitting just .227/.276/.348 in 145 plate appearances. Only Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann are hitting above .250 in five or more plate appearances against Sanchez.
This game could go any number of ways, and after how weird the first three games in this series have been, not much would surprise me. Both Tanaka and Sanchez have the ability to shut down an opposing lineup, even ones as formidable as the respective batting orders they will be facing today. However, it could also turn into a slugfest. Tanaka looked hittable in his first two starts of the year, while Sanchez has struggled to get hitters out in his last two outings. Both teams need their frontline starters to act as such, and a strong start from Sanchez would go a long way in allaying the concerns developing about the Tigers over the past few days.
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