“Definitely happy to be back out there”, Tanaka said through an interpreter.
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That’s about as good as it got for the Yankees’ offense against Eduardo Rodriguez.
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez delivers in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, Monday, September 28, 2015.
Nova blanked the visitors through five frames but gave up a two-run homer to Travis Shaw with two outs in the sixth that erased a 1-0 Yankees lead, and a two-out, two-run homer to Jackie Bradley Jr., the No. 9 hitter, in the seventh. He is set to pitch Wednesday against the Red Sox in preparation for his postseason appearance.
The Yankees (86-70) could have clinched with a win and a loss from either the Angels or Astros, but instead fell five games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.
Ortiz, who’s homered five times in his last 10 games at Yankee Stadium, is 4 for 6 off Nova this season.
“With Taz and Koji, their best trainers are here with us right now”, Lovullo said. “I tried to throw what I want and get a strikeout”.
After last game’s shutout win against the Baltimore, the Red Sox now have 10 shutouts this season.
Eduardo Rodriguez improved to 10-6 after limiting the Yankees to one run in six innings in Monday’s win.
The New York Yankees finally have an answer to when Masahiro Tanaka will make his next start after being sidelined with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. Lovullo said Rodriguez “deserves a lot of consideration to be one of our mainstays next year”. With Marrero’s homer in the mix, the Sox had little reason for concern even as Ross allowed a pair of baserunners to start the frame before pulling a houdini act to end the game with New York still on just the one run. Mookie Betts had led off the game with a double, but was thrown out trying to take home on a Xander Bogaerts ground ball, and other than that a couple third-inning walks were the only real threat the Sox had mustered, and Nova had struck out Marrero, Betts, and Bogaerts to work around those. “We wanted those three guys due to their connection to the two trainers here”. Headley singled to left, Beltran to second. Lovullo said Castillo could play in an emergency…. After the season they have endured, they are entitled to pop corks over winning a wild-card spot. “Jackie’s unbelievable”.
Nova yielded seven hits and four runs in what most likely is the final start of his first year back from Tommy John surgery.
“I feel really good”.
“I think we all wanted to get to this day”, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after announcing Tanaka’s return.
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Tanaka passed his final hurdle, acing his fielding drills Monday afternoon.
