Tag Archives: Masahiro Tanaka

Oct 07

ALDS Game Three, 2020

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Athletics vs Astros, 12:35 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Astros lead the series 2-0.

LHP Jesus Luzardo tries to prevent an Astros sweep for the As, and RHP Jose Urquidy, pitching in a sore-armed Zack Greinke’s slot, tries to complete it. Luzardo gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings against the White Sox in the As’ Wild Card Series, while Urquidy went 4 1/3 innings against the Twins in the Astros’ Wild Card Series, giving up one run on two hits and getting no decision.

Rays vs Yankees, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The series is tied 1-1.

RHP Charlie Morton starts for the Rays after a twelve-day layoff. He’ll face the Yankees’ RHP Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka gave up six earned runs to the Indians in Game Two of the Yankees’ Wild Card Series, more than he’d ever given up in eight previous postseason starts.

The Yankees have made plenty of postseason history on October 7, but so have a lot of other teams. The event with the most lasting significance was this: In 1969 the Cardinals traded Curt Flood along with Byron Browne, Joe Hoerner, and Tim McCarver to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Dick Allen, Jerry Johnson, and Cookie Rojas. When Flood refused to report to Philadelphia, St. Louis sent Willie Montanez and a minor leaguer to complete the trade, but the outfielder’s courageous challenge to the reserve clause had a dramatic impact on the game.

Take a look.

Sep 30

AL Wild Card Series Game Two, 2020

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Astros at Twins, 10:08 AM PDT, TV: ESPN2

Good ol’ TBD starts for the Astros while RHP José Berrios goes for the Twins. The Astros lead the series 1-0.

White Sox at Athletics, 12:07 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

LHP Dallas Kuechel starts for the White Sox and RHP Chris Bassitt does the same for the Athletics. The White Sox lead the series 1-0.

Blue Jays at Rays, 1:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Blue Jays give the ball to old friend Hyun-Jin Ryu, whose first year with the Jays has been very successful. He was 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA in twelve starts, and in his last one he threw seven shutout innings against the Yankees. He’ll face the Rays’ RHP Tyler Glasnow. The Rays lead the series 1-0.

Yankees at Indians, 4:08 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

The Yankees send RHP Masahiro Tanaka to the Progessive Field mound to face RHP Carlos Carrasco. The Yankees lead the series 1-0.

Oct 12

ALCS 2019

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Game One: Yankees at Astros, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: Fox

Two righthanders go at one another: Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees and Zack Greinke for the Astros. Tanaka’s career postseason ERA is 1.54. Greinke has not been his usual dominant self in recent postseason appearances: he’s got a 9.49 ERA in his last three.

Game Two: Yankees at Astros, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

LHP James Paxton takes the hill for the Yankees. He’ll try to match innings with the Astros’ RHP Justin Verlander. Paxton faced the Houstonians twice during the year, giving up five runs in an April game but just one in a game in July. Verlander beat the Yankees twice in the 2017 playoffs, but of course that was a different Yankee team. He made two starts against them in 2019 for a total of 13 innings, giving up six runs and going 1-0.

Game Three: Astros at Yankees, 1:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Series is tied at one game apiece. The Astros give the ball to RHP Gerrit Cole, who’s been virtually untouchable in his first two postseason starts, giving up six hits and only one run in two wins against the Rays in the ALDS. The Yankees counter with RHP Luis Severino, who went four scoreless innings against the Twins in Game Three of the Yankees’ side of the ALDS. Four innings, oddly, is the average length of the seven postseason outings he’s made in his career, posting a 1-2 record with a 5.33 ERA.

Game Four has been postponed until Thursday at 8:08 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.

Game Four: Astros at Yankees, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Astros send RHP Zack Greinke to the mound in the Bronx to face the Yankees’ RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who, thanks to yesterday’s rainout, will be pitching on regular rest. He’s been spectacular in his postseason appearances: 1.32 ERA over 41 innings in seven starts. Despite a quality start in Game One, Greinke was the loser as Tanaka shut out the Astros over six innings and the bullpen did the rest.

Game Five: Astros at Yankees, 4:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

This is a rematch of Game Two with the Astros’s Verlander going against the Yankees’ Paxton. That game displayed a stark difference in the teams’ pitching philosophy: Verlander went 6 2/3 innings while Paxton came out after 2 1/3, not because he was injured or tipping pitches or getting shelled (one run on four hits), but because Yankees manager Aaron Boone trusts his bullpen more than he does most of his starters.

Game Six: Yankees at Astros, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

Both managers are calling this a bullpen game, so no “starters” have been named by either side. It’ll be a surprise!

Oct 05

ALDS Games Two, 2019

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On this day in baseball history we find the Mickey Owens passed ball, Al Gionfriddo’s catch, Mickey Mantle’s torn knee cartilage and the invention of the high five, among other things.

The early game is the Twins at Yankees, 2:07 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Twins’ RHP Randy Dobnak will make his sixth big league start on the biggest stage you can get: facing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the postseason. He’ll face RHP Masahiro Tanaka, one of the few Yankees starter who was healthy all season. Tanaka has made five career postseason starts and has a 3-2 record with a 1.50 ERA to show for it.

Twins lineup:

Yankees lineup:

The late game will be the Rays at Astros, 6:07 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Rays ask LHP Blake Snell to get them even in the series, while the Astros send Gerrit Cole out to continue what Verlander did yesterday. By the way, Cole was 16-0 with a 1.78 ERA in his last 22 starts of 2019.

Rays lineup:

Astros lineup:

Oct 18

ALCS Game Five, 2018

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Red Sox at Astros, 5:09 PM PDT, TV: TBS

Backs to the wall, the Astros send ace RHP Justin Verlander to the mound to stop the Red Sox. The Sox counter with LHP David Price. Verlander gave up two runs on two hits in six innings in Game One of this series, while Price went 4 2/3 innings in Game Two, giving up five hits and four runs. The Sox scored five in the first three innings and were never caught, so for the first time in Price’s career his team won a postseason game he’d started.

Today in Red Sox history:

  • 1971 Dick Williams is named the Associated Press American League Manager of the Year after guiding the A’s to their first playoff appearance since the franchise faced St. Louis in the 1931 Fall Classic. The 42 year-old skipper also copped the honor for piloting the Red Sox during the team’s Impossible Dream season in 1967.
  • 1999 The Yankees win their record 36th pennant when the team beats the Red Sox, 6-1, in Game 5 of the ALCS. Orlando Hernandez blanks Boston into the eighth inning with Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada providing the offense punch with two-run round-trippers, respectively in the first and ninth frames of the Fenway Park contest.
  • 2004 After 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 471 pitches, the Red Sox outlast the Yankees, 5-4, in Game 5 of the league championship. Boston’s DH David Ortiz, who is the first player in baseball history to hit two walk-off home runs during the postseason, ends the longest game in ALCS history at 1:22 a.m. with a two-out single into center scoring Johnny Damon from second in the 14th inning at Fenway Park.
  • 2008 The Red Sox, scoring in each of the last three innings, erase a seven-run deficit in the seventh to beat the Rays, 8-7, in Game 5 of the ALCS. The Philadelphia A’s, who rallied after trailing 8-0 to beat the Cubs, 10-8, in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, are the only team to have made a bigger comeback in the postseason.

Today in Astros’ history:

  • 2001 Larry Dierker, who left the Astros’ broadcast booth to take over the dugout duties as the team’s skipper in 1997, resigns as Houston manager (448-362, .553, four divisional titles), despite tying the Cardinals for the best record in the National League (93-69) and winning the Central Division. The team failed to win a playoff series in his five-year tenure, going 2-12 in postseason action.
  • 2017 Masahiro Tanaka pitches seven innings of three-hit ball and the Yankees shut out the Astros in Game Five of the ALCS to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Astros won the next two games and moved on to the 2018 World Series for the second time in team history (2005).

Lineups when available.

Oct 06

ALDS Games Two, 2018

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The first game today is Indians at Astros, 1:37 PDT, TV: TBS. The Astros lead the series 1-0.

The Indians send RHP Carlos Carrasco (17-10, 3.38 ERA) to the mound to try to stop the Astros’ juggernaut. He’ll face Houston’s RHP Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.88 ERA). In his career Cole is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in the postseason, all with the Pirates. Carrasco is 0-0 with 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in the postseason, against the Yankees in 2017.

Indians lineup:


Astros lineup:


The second game today is Yankees at Red Sox, 5:15 PM PDT, TV: TBS. The Red Sox lead the series 1-0.

The Yankees send RHP Masahiro Tanaka (12-6, 3.75 ERA) to the mound in Fenway Park. He’ll face the Red Sox’ LHP David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA). Tanaka is 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA in the postseason and is coming in cold; in his last two starts he gave up eight earned runs in eight innings. Additionally he had a 7.58 ERA against the Red Sox this season. Price has been on a roll, going 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA since the All Star break, but he’s got to overcome the memory of his postseason career (2-8, 5.03 ERA).

Lineups when available.

Oct 18

ALCS Game Five, 2017

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Astros at Yankees, 2:00 PM PT, TV: FS1

The Astros send their ace LHP Dallas Keuchel (14-5, 2.90 ERA) to try to win the last game at Yankee Stadium in this series. He’ll face the Yankees’ RHP Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74 ERA). This is a rematch of the pitchers in Game One, in which Keuchel threw seven scoreless innings and gave up only one hit as Tanaka gave up two runs in six innings and the Astros won 2-1.

Today in Yankees’ history:

  • 1960“Resigned, fired, quit, discharged, use whatever you damn please. I’ll never make the mistake of being seventy again” – Casey Stengel, announcing his dismissal from the Yankees. The Yankees, five days after losing to the Pirates in Game 7 of the World Series, fire Stengel, believing he’s too old to manage. During his twelve-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers, the ‘Old Perfesser’ compiled a 1149-696 (.623) record, while capturing ten AL pennants and seven World Championships.
  • 1977 In Game 6 of the Fall Classic, Reggie Jackson, who also homered in his last at bat in the previous contest, hits three home runs on three consecutive pitches, propelling the Yankees to an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers at the ballpark in the Bronx. ‘Mr. October’s heroics assures the team of their twenty-first World Championship, their first since 1962.

Today in Astros’ history:

  • 2001 Larry Dierker, who left the Astros’ broadcast booth to take over the dugout duties as the team’s skipper in 1997, resigns as Houston manager (448-362, .553, four divisional titles), despite tying the Cardinals for the best record in the National League (93-69) and winning the Central Division. The team failed to win a playoff series in his five-year tenure, going 2-12 in postseason action.
Oct 13

ALCS Game One, 2017

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Yankees at Astros, 5:00 PM PT, TV: FS1

The Yankees start RHP Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74 ERA) on the road (6.48 ERA), where he was markedly worse than at home (3.22 ERA) this season. His opponent will be LHP Dallas Keuchel (14-5, 2.90 ERA), who’s 5-2 with a 1.24 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees, including a three-hit six-inning shutout in the 2015 Wild Card Game in which he got the win.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1960 At Forbes Field, Bill Mazeroski’s dramatic walk-off home run off Yankee hurler Ralph Terry breaks up a 9-9 tie, ending one of the most exciting seven game World Series ever played. Maz’s round-tripper remains the only home run ever to a win a World Series Game 7.

  • 2001 The Yankees, being down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, stave off elimination, beating the A’s and Barry Zito, 1-0, thanks to the shutout pitching by Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada’s fifth-inning home run. Shortstop Derek Jeter backing up an errant relay throw down the first base line and flipping it home to cut down Jeremy Giambi as the potential tying run will be remembered as one of the best defensive plays in postseason history.

Oct 08

ALDS Games Three, 2017

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This applies to both of today’s games: Teams with 2-0 leads have won the series 66 times and lost nine.

First game: Astros at Red Sox, 11:30 AM PT, TV: FS1

The Astros try to close out the Sox today, sending RHP Brad Peacock (13-2, 3.00 ERA) to the mound to face the Red Sox’ RHP Doug Fister (5-9, 4.88 ERA). Peacock beat the Sox in his only appearance against them on September 28. He’s had no prior postseason experience. Fister lost to the Astros in his only start against them on September 29. He’s made eight postseason starts but none since 2014 with the Nats.

Second game: Indians at Yankees, 4:30 PM PT, TV: FS1

RHP Carlos Carrasco (18-6, 3.29 ERA) takes the hill for the Indians in the Bronx tonight. He’ll face the Yankees’ RHP Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74 ERA). Carrasco has had the best year of his career, but what’s even more germane is that on the road as he’ll be tonight he’s 11-2 with a 2.65 ERA and a .210/.266/.336 opponents’ slash line. Similarly, Tanaka is 9-5 with a 3.22 ERA at home in Yankee Stadium, far better than on the road.

Today in baseball history: It’s the anniversary of Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game Five of the 1956 World Series. It’s also the date of Ernie Lombardi’s “Swoon” in 1939, when the Reds’ catcher was run over at home plate by Charlie Keller of the Yankees and was so dazed that Joe DiMaggio was able to score all the way from first before he recovered. And in 1959 the Dodgers beat the White Sox in Game Six to win the World Series. More at National Pastime.

Oct 06

Wild Card Games, 2015

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Today is the American League Wild Card (or play-in, if this were the NCAA basketball tournament) game. Tomorrow is the National League’s version. Comment or ignore as you wish. If you prefer to keep discussing the Dodgers’ playoff possibilities, use the thread below.

Howard Cole (former Dodger blogger) has some thoughts about postseason experience — does it help or does it matter? He cites rookies who’ve done amazing things and veterans who’ve failed miserably, and he cites other cases when the opposite took place.

Today: Astros at Yankees, 8:00PM ET, ESPN (which makes history by putting Jessica Mendoza in the broadcast booth alongside John Kruk and Dan Shulman)

The Astros start Dallas Kuechel on three days rest. He was 15-0 at home and 5-8 on the road this season with a 2.48 ERA and 16 scoreless innings against the Yankees. The Yankees start Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA), who missed his next-to-last start with a strained hamstring and in his last start went five innings and gave up four runs.

Nothing against the Yankees (well, except the eight times they’ve beaten the Dodgers in the World Series), but I’m rooting for the Astros in this one. They’ve had several awful years and weren’t expected to get this good until next season.

Tomorrow: Cubs at Pirates, 8:00PM ET, TBS (Brian Anderson, Dennis Eckersley, Joe Simpson)

Two aces go at one another in this game: the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA including a no-hitter against the Dodgers) versus the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA). I’m uncertain who I’m rooting for here. As a baseball fan it’s hard not to hope the Cubs advance, but I’ve always had stronger feelings for the Buccos.