NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 in 7 1/3 outstanding innings, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez homered in a span of four pitches with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth inning as the surging New York Yankees ran their winning streak to a season-high seven games with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Tanaka (13-4) won his sixth straight decision and has not lost since Aug. 2. Since then, the Yankees are 23-12 are now three games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.