FORT MYERS, Fla. — The distance is the same, 60 feet, 6 inches, but it’s a much different world pitching to major league hitters.
Masahiro Tanaka is learning that lesson every time he takes the mound.
In his last outing against the free-swinging Braves, Tanaka got ahead of the hitters and was in command. On Saturday against the Twins, a mediocre-hitting team at best, the hitters were more patient as Tanaka fell behind eight of the first 10 batters and found himself having to work out of trouble.
Just wait until the really patient Red Sox get a look at Tanaka. Now you know why the Yankees are arranging the rotation so Tanaka will miss the Red Sox early in the season.
Adjustments must be made. Tanaka must get ahead of hitters early to have the kind of success the Yankees need, especially when his fastball sits in the 89-91 range.
Tanaka went 5 ²/₃ innings in the 5-4 win over the Twins at Hammond Stadium. He surrendered three runs on five hits, walked one and struck out six with his 92 pitches. Josh Willingham lofted a high fly to the left field wall with the bases loaded in the third or it would have been a much more difficult day for Tanaka. In three of his innings the right-hander had to work out of trouble.
“I didn’t think he was overpowering,’’ Willingham said, “but I thought he had a lot of movement, which makes it hard as a hitter.’’
Get ahead and Tanaka is much more dangerous.
“I had good innings and I had bad innings,’’ Tanaka explained through an interpreter. “The innings I felt were good, I think I had first strikes a lot, but on the other hand, the innings I gave up runs, I think it was the other way around, starting out ball, ball.’’
Tanaka knows the issue and now it’s up to him to make the adjustment.
Why was he falling around so many hitters?
“The balance of my pitch form,’’ he said. “The ball was going up.’’
Asked what he does to fix such a problem, Tanaka said, “I don’t want to get too much into details.’’
Tanaka breezed through the fourth and fifth, getting ahead of the hitters. That is when his splitter is most dangerous. His fastball, so far, has been ordinary, sitting in the 89-91 range. He hit 92 once on Saturday. He is working on improving his cutter and that could prove to be a huge pitch for him.
“I’m not expecting him to throw 96-95,’’ catcher Francisco Cervelli said, “but what I expect is that I can call any pitch in any count and he’s able to do that.’’
In the sixth after a leadoff single, Joe Mauer came to the plate. In his previous at-bat Tanaka walked Mauer on four pitches. In this at-bat he threw a nifty backdoor slider on a 2-2 pitch, but he did not get the call from home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg.
Tanaka leaned forward as if to say: Where was that pitch?
On the next pitch he threw a cutter up at 88 mph that Mauer swung through. Tanaka then hit Willingham with a pitch and gave up a run-scoring double to the right-field wall to Jason Kubel on another pitch too high in the zone. After a run-scoring groundout, Tanaka was out of the game.
“When the two-seamer doesn’t go down, it’s a problem,’’ Cervelli said.
For Tanaka to use his tool belt of pitches, he needs to get ahead. Then the splitter becomes devastating.
“If I’m able to do what I want to do up there, then I feel I will be pretty successful out there,’’ Tanaka said.
Cervelli said the plan was to work on getting the fastball over the inner part of the plate.
“I think during the season he’ll be more aggressive because 50,000 [fans] and it’s New York,’’ Cervelli said. “The big leagues is hard when you get behind. You get hit.’’
Get ahead and it’s a much different world.