ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Masahiro Tanaka did his best to make sure he’s not on the mound next Wednesday against the A’s in the AL wild-card game.
The right-hander followed up his worst start of the season against the Red Sox in his previous outing with another clunker facing a Rays team that had just been eliminated from playoff contention.
On Wednesday, Tanaka allowed four runs — three earned — in four-plus innings in the Yankees’ 8-7 loss at Tropicana Field.
Now he enters the postseason in search of his most important pitch.
“The common thread is the splitter,’’ Tanaka said through an interpreter when asked what has gone wrong in the last two outings.