When Japanese super-star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka took that flight over to New York City, none of us knew what to expect. We heard a lot of noise and hype about this guy, but we had not yet seen it.
Well, seeing is believing.
Through the first-three games of his Major League Baseball career, New York Yankees Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is tearing big-league hitters up. After his 8-Inning, 10-Strikeout, 1-Walk, 0-Run masterpiece today against the Chicago Cubs, he now ranks up there with the best of the game in 2014.
As of today, Tanaka now ranks fourth in MLB with 28 strike-outs in only 22 innings (Cueto 35, Strasburg 33, F. Hernandez 30), according to ESPN.com. Not bad for a so-called “ground-ball” pitcher. He’s won two of his first three games and boasts an impressive 2.03 ERA (Earned Run Average). His 0.77 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning-Pitched) puts the cherry on top for Yankee Fans.
Another reason “seeing is believing” is that nasty split-finger-fastball he has in his arsenal. Ladies and gentlemen, this guy might have the best splitter in the world today. It comes at you like a freight-train and then disappears to nowhere.
When he is locating his curve (like he did today), his splitter is an “out-pitch” that most guys could only dream of possessing.
Chicago Cubs’ hitters looked foolish today. I thought for a moment the “Little League World Series” came to the Bronx, but then I realized Michael Kay would never do a Little-League game.
The Cubs only success against Tanaka came off of two-bunt hits. In the second-inning Junior Lake received credit for a hit thanks to the new replay system, and Anthony Rizzo pushed a bunt which succeeded in the seventh, according to USAtoday. Aside from an early walk, and those two minor bunt-blemishes, Tanaka was perfect.
Tanaka’s next start is scheduled for Sunday in Tampa Bay against the Rays.