It’s not fair to say the Yankees—a team on pace for 100+ wins—needed this win. They did, however, need a strong outing by their starting pitcher, and Masahiro Tanaka delivered.
We’ll have a full recap up soon, but in the meantime, here are the afternoon’s highlights:
Winner of the Game:
Tanaka allowed a leadoff single to Bo Bichette to start the game, and one could argue that should have been an error on Gio Urshela’s part. The right-hander wouldn’t allow another hit until Justin Smoak hit a single to start the bottom of the eighth.