Masahiro Tanaka has been the Yankees’ best postseason starter since joining the team in 2014. Across five starts and 30 innings in October, the right-hander owns a 1.50 ERA and 25 strikeouts to just seven walks. However, Tanaka’s struggles with his signature splitter this year make it hard to pencil him in for another stellar postseason as the Yankees seek to seal the division in the next few games.
In the wake of Tanaka’s August 11 start against the Blue Jays, in which he blanked them for eight innings and allowed just three baserunners, I wrote that “it would be jumping the gun to declare Masahiro Tanaka all the way back after one start”.