1:05 PM ET, September 21, 2014
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
Associated Press
Tanaka Wins In Return
"Obviously, I'm very relieved," Tanaka said through a translator after leading the Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Sunday before a boisterous sellout crowd of 48,144 on a gray, overcast afternoon.
Tanaka was only part of the attraction: It was Derek Jeter's last weekend game at Yankee Stadium. The retiring Yankees captain received standing ovations during every at-bat, went 2-for-4 and finished his next-to-last home series 8-for-15 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs. Jeter became the first Yankee with four straight mulithit games at age 40, and he saluted the crowd after sharing postgame handshakes and high-fives with teammates.
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He started sensationally at 11-1 with a 1.99 ERA in his first 14 appearances. But he slumped in his next four and hadn't pitched since scans discovered a slight tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow. Rather than opt for Tommy John surgery, which would have sidelined him for about a year, Tanaka and the Yankees chose a rehabilitation strengthening protocol.
Tanaka (13-4) responded by allowing one run and five hits in 5⅓ innings with four strikeouts, no walks and a hit batter. He had an exceptional curveball, and his splitter was dipping as sharply as it did during the first half of the season.
"I don't exactly remember when, but gradually, as the game went on, I guess I stopped thinking about it," he said of his elbow.
Tanaka gave up a run in first when Reyes singled to right center, took third on Jose Bautista's ground single to right through the shifted infield and came home on Edwin Encarnacion's double-play grounder. After Munenori Kawasaki had a one-out double in the second, Tanaka retired 11 of his next 12 batters.
"The way he pitched today, it's a great sign," said catcher Brian McCann, who hit franchise home runs 14,999 and 15,001, driving in three runs.
Tanaka went to a three-ball count just once. He left with two on and tipped his cap to fans as he walked to the dugout.
"Pretty darn good," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's extremely encouraging and now we'll try to get him to start again on Saturday."
But will the ligament hold up?
"Are we going to know fully until five years down the road? Probably not," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "It's possible that he can get through this for quite a while. It's possible that it comes up and bites him, and that's it. We're hopeful that's it's the earlier scenario and that he's going to be fine and have a nice, long career with no problems."
New York is 4½ games out for the AL's second wild card with seven games to play, yet still drew its second straight sellout as Jeter's admirers turned out.
Jeter's fifth-inning single chased Drew Hutchison (10-13), and when Jeter batted in the seventh, most fans held up phones and cameras to take photographs and video. He responded with a run-scoring double down the left-field line against Todd Redmond for a 3-1 lead, and the crowd erupted with near-postseason intensity. The usual "De-rek Je-ter!" chants turned into "Thank You De-rek!" and he stole third base.
Jeter then jogged home when McCann hit his second home run of the game to make it 5-1. On Wednesday, Jeter had broken an 0-for-28 slide on the last night of a road trip.
"I'm sure," Girardi said, "there's a little bit of extra adrenaline going right now."
THE FINAL DAYS: Girardi anticipates Jeter will play in all four games against Baltimore. Gates open at 4 p.m. before the night games so fans can watch Jeter take batting practice.
LAST OUT: David Robertson pitched a hitless ninth for his 38th save in 42 chances.
BUNCHING: McCann has 11 multihomer games, including two this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: OF Carlos Beltran plans to wait until after the season for surgery to remove right elbow bone spurs. ... 1B Mark Teixeira was to be examined by a hand specialist Sunday.
UP NEXT
RHP Michael Pineda (3-5) starts Monday against Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen (16-4).
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda #18 of the New York Yankees warms up in the outfield prior to...
(Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images)
Game Information
| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 48,144 (97.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:09 |
| Weather | 72 degrees, cloudy |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mark Carlson, First Base - Jeff Nelson, Second Base - Laz Diaz, Third Base - Scott Barry |
Research Notes
- Posted his 2nd-worst swing-and-miss rate in a start - 18.8%, or 6 misses in 32 swings.
- Fewest splitters thrown in a start (15); 4th-lowest splitter usage rate (21.4% of pitches), and lowest since May 25
- 42% of the pitches batters took were called strikes, his second-highest called strike rate in a start.
- Threw nearly 66% of his pitches 'away' from batters, his 2nd-highest rate in a start this season (67% on May 31).
- 89.7 average velocity (mph) on fastball/sinker, 2nd-lowest in a start this year.
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Derek Jeter (NYY): double in 7th inning; 1st time with a double in back-to-back games since Aug. 19-20, 2012.
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Brian McCann (NYY): HR (21); 17 of 21 HR this season have come at home. 19 of his 21 HR have now been hit to right field.
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