Tanaka off his game in second go at Astros
Bill Ladson
@ladsonbill24NEW YORK -- Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka¡¯s postseason domination hit a bump in the road in the Yankees' 8-3 loss to the Astros in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
Tanaka was cruising while trying to protect a 1-0 lead until the third inning, when Astros outfielder George Springer hit a three-run homer to give Houston the lead.
The home run came off a splitter, marking the second time Tanaka had allowed a home run on his trademark pitch since the start of July. Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk was the last person to hit a home run off his splitter, on Sept. 13.
¡°Just a splitter that got too much of the plate,¡± Tanaka said. ¡°It was supposed to be lower, obviously, but it was up and the homer by Springer was on a splitter. It had too much of the plate.¡±
With a single swing, Tanaka had, for the first time, surrendered more than two runs in a postseason game. Entering the game, he had a 5-1 record with a 1.32 ERA in seven postseason starts, including a gem in Game 1 of this series when Tanaka dominated the Astros at Minute Maid Park, allowing just one hit in six innings as the Yanks cruised to a 7-0 victory.
¡°I think we hit mistakes. Pretty much he didn't make one in Houston,¡± Springer said. ¡°He made a couple today and I think that was it. Just make sure that we hit a mistake and we'll see what happens.¡±
Astros manager AJ Hinch said he thought Tanaka changed his game plan and threw more fastballs than in Game 1.
¡°He's always in complete control of himself and of his pitches,¡± Hinch said. ¡°Today, we had a little bit more disciplined approach. We made him stay on the plate, and then we hit a mistake or two and put pressure on him.¡±
Tanaka held the Astros in check the two innings after Springer¡¯s homer, but he was lifted after Alex Bregman reached base on an error by first baseman DJ LeMahieu in sixth. Right-hander Chad Green entered the game and retired Yuli Gurriel, but then allowed a single to Yordan ?lvarez, followed by a three-run bomb by Carlos Correa to increase Houston's lead to 6-1.
Tanaka¡¯s final line was four runs allowed (three earned) on four hits and two walks in five-plus innings, with just one strikeout. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tanaka battled throughout the game.
¡°They made pretty good contact with [Tanaka]. He didn't have a lot of strikeouts,¡± Boone said. ¡°The fact that he got as deep through their order as he did I think kind of speaks to his guile a little bit. I didn't really think he had his split tonight. But he made some pitches.
¡°They squared him up a handful of times right at some guys. So I thought he battled well and made some pitches when he had to, and obviously made the big mistake on the split that turned into more like a two-seamer, which it seemed like how his split was working a little bit tonight.¡±