NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka said that he looked up to Hisashi Iwakuma during their five seasons as teammates with Japan's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, with the veteran Iwakuma often advising the younger Tanaka on the strategies of facing hitters.
They will reunite on the Major League stage on Sunday, with Iwakuma and Tanaka comprising the pitching matchup for the Mariners-Yankees tilt at Yankee Stadium.
"I read somewhere that it's the first time [former Japanese teammates are] pitching against each other in the States, so I was a little surprised of knowing that," Tanaka said through an interpreter.