Masahiro Tanaka continued his strong postseason run, pitching the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of their American League Divisional Series on Saturday.

Tanaka (1-0) allowed a run on three hits and a walk over five innings, while striking out four. Although he had good movement, he often struggled to locate his pitches. Tanaka made few mistakes in the strike zone, but one pitch was blasted over Fenway Park's center field wall for a solo home run.

"He was executing all his pitches, especially in 3-1 counts. That's why he was effective," said Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who homered twice and drove in four runs.

The Yankees' win tied the best-of-five series 1-1. Tanaka improved his career postseason record in the majors to 3-2, although his ERA rose from 1.44 to 1.50.

"I think I did as well as I could," said Tanaka, who had allowed five runs to the Red Sox over four innings in a Sept. 20 start at Yankee Stadium. "Compared to my previous two games, my split was better. It was completely different."

"Heading home (to New York for Game 3) with the series 1-1 is huge. This is the best possible outcome."

The Yankees jumped out in front against David Price on Aaron Judge's first-inning solo home run to left center. Sanchez made it 2-0 by leading off the second with another high shot over Fenway's iconic left field wall, the green monster.

After Sanchez's home run, a pair of two-out walks set the table for Andrew McCutchen's single high off the wall in left.

(Gary Sanchez hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning off Eduardo Rodriguez)

Tanaka gave one run back in the fourth, when Xander Bogaerts tattooed a first-pitch fastball that missed up and in the heart of the zone. Tanaka issued a two-out, four-pitch walk but battled back to end the inning with a swinging strikeout.

"We expanded (the zone) tonight," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "His split was a lot better. We were very disciplined in New York, but not tonight. We expanded and he did a good job. It seemed like we had him on the ropes or in counts in our favor, he got back in the count and then he threw a split or a slider and we expanded."

Tanaka was pulled after five innings with the Yankees leading 3-1, and the Red Sox bullpen holding steady. Things got testy on the field when Sanchez came to the plate in the fifth. With two on and two outs, former Hiroshima Carp right-hander Ryan Brasier shouted at Sanchez to get into the batter's box. Brasier then made Sanchez his third strikeout victim of the inning.

Baseball: Masahiro Tanaka, Yanks skipper fine with just 5 innings

Sanchez put the game out of reach with his three-run home run in the seventh off lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who had allowed a single and a walk.

The Red Sox got a run back in the bottom of the seventh off the Yankees' second pitcher, Dellin Betances. Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to close it out for the Yanks.

Price (0-1) was charged with three runs on three hits and two walks over 1-2/3 innings.

"After having won Game 1, having the opportunity to go out and go up 2-0, to throw the baseball the way that I did was definitely tough," Price said. "I'm looking forward to getting back out there and getting another opportunity."

"They make it tough for me, and I had to go out and execute pitches in big counts and I couldn't."

(Masahiro Tanaka on the mound)