Field Level Media
May 27, 2018
Masahiro Tanaka struck out Shohei Ohtani twice and pitched six innings as the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Sunday afternoon in windy conditions at Yankee Stadium.
Tanaka (6-2) struck out Ohtani on split-fingered fastballs for the final out of the first and for the second out of the sixth. Ohtani also drew a walk in the fourth off Tanaka, against whom he is 0-for-13 going back to the 2013 season in Japan.
Ohtani finished his first series at Yankee Stadium by going 0-for-9 with four walks.
Tanaka allowed a run on three hits and won his fourth straight decision. He struck out eight and issued three walks while throwing a season-high 104 pitches.
He also retired Mike Trout three times. After Trout went 5-for-5 with a homer, three doubles, and four RBIs Saturday, the center fielder was 0-for-4.
Tanaka struck Trout out on a four-seam fastball to cap a 10-pitch at-bat in the first and fanned him on a splitter for the first out of the sixth. Trout also grounded into a fielder's choice in the eighth against Dellin Betances.
The Yankees capitalized on a laborious outing from Garrett Richards (4-4), who made the start instead of Ohtani. Richards lasted 2 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on three hits with five walks, while also tying a career worst with three wild pitches.
Richards lost his third straight start and fell to 0-5 against the Yankees.
David Robertson tossed a scoreless seventh and Betances ended a scoreless eighth by getting a double play on Andrelton Simmons. Aroldis Chapman opened the ninth by walking Ohtani and threw two wild pitches but struck out two and recorded his 11th save.
Simmons homered off Tanaka in the sixth as the Angels fell to 17-7 on the road and lost a road series for the first time this season.
The Yankees scored three times in the third despite getting one hit in the inning. They took a 1-0 lead on a walk to Aaron Hicks, went up 2-0 when Greg Bird was hit by a pitch and took a 3-0 lead on Miguel Andujar's fielder's-choice grounder to shortstop.
The Angels made it 3-1 when Simmons lifted Tanaka's 2-2 slider into the left field seats. After Simmons hit his fourth homer, Tanaka struck out Ohtani for the second time and retired Luis Valbuena on a fly ball that required a diving catch by right fielder Giancarlo Stanton due to the swirling wind.
Los Angeles outfielder Justin Upton did not start due to a left forearm contusion after being hit by a pitch against Sonny Gray Saturday.
New York rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres did not start to rest a banged up knee but entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth.
--Field Level Media