Masahiro Tanaka pitched out of a first-inning jam and got the win in his preseason debut Sunday as the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1.
Tanaka allowed a 1-0 triple to his first batter, Daz Cameron, at George M. Steinbrenner Field, but stranded the runner by fanning two straight and getting his fourth batter to fly out.
"I got a decent result while trying various things, so of course that was good," Tanaka said. "I allowed a triple right off the bat, but I put down the threat though good concentration.
(Masahiro Tanaka)
The 30-year-old, whose scheduled start last Tuesday was cancelled due to rain, retired his final six batters with six pitches over the next two innings. Tanaka relied on his curve in particular, leading with one against seven of his 10 batters.
Among other Japanese major leaguers, Chicago Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish recorded three strikeouts over two scoreless innings at Sloan Park in Arizona and got his first preseason win in his second start of the year.
The right-hander's scheduled three innings were cut short due to the Cubs' eight-run rally in the second as the team beat the Chicago White Sox 13-4.
"I changed everything including my overall rhythm and timing and just pitched with a simple feeling," said Darvish, who is making a comeback from an elbow injury that cut his 2018 season short.
(Yu Darvish)
Darvish touched 97 miles per hour (156 kilometers per hour) and graded his fastball an "85," while giving perfect marks to his slider and splitter. The 32-year-old was limited to 27 pitches in the game, but tacked on 15 more in the bullpen.
Later in the game, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Junichi Tazawa, currently on a minor league contract with the Cubs, fanned two in a perfect sixth without issuing a ball.
"It's my job to go out if I'm told to go out, but it was a hefty lineup for my first start," said Tazawa, who struck out Yoan Moncada and Yonder Alonso, and got two-time Silver Slugger Jose Abreu to fly out.
"More than being appreciated for holding down good batters, it was a plus that I pitched strongly my own way."
At Camelback Ranch, Kenta Maeda allowed three runs including a two-run homer but limited the damage with three strikeouts over two innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
(Kenta Maeda)
"It wasn't very good," Maeda said. "There are a lot of things like this at this point in the season, so within that I saw what I needed to adjust and I'm glad I was able to fix it to some degree in the (second) inning."
In Tempe, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani took soft-toss swings for the third straight day. The 24-year-old, who had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, continues working toward a return as a designated hitter in May.
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