Back to the New York Yankees Newsfeed

What Masahiro Tanaka learned when out pitch wasn’t working

Masahiro Tanaka spent most of 2019 searching for his split-fingered fastball.

The normally reliable — and often devastating — pitch deserted him at times this season, with Tanaka and pitching coach Larry Rothschild going to drastic measures to get it back.

The right-hander is confident he has a good handle on the pitch going into Saturday’s ALDS Game 2 start against the Twins in The Bronx.

“I think I’m pretty confident in the splitter that I have right now going into [Saturday],’’ Tanaka said through an interpreter before Friday’s 10-4 Yankees victory over the Twins in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium.