The Yankees’ shiny new toy has looked good during his first two outings, but Masahiro Tanaka wasn’t enough to beat the Orioles by himself Wednesday.
Despite a strong seven innings from the right-hander, the Yankees lost to Baltimore, 5-4, thanks to a missed opportunity in the bottom of the eighth and an ineffective performance from temporary closer Shawn Kelley in the ninth.
Kelley, filling in for the injured David Robertson, allowed four straight hits and a pair of runs in the ninth, including a single to Nick Markakis that knocked in the winning run to spoil Tanaka’s Bronx debut at a chilly Stadium.
All four of the hits came on Kelley’s slider, and he regretted the two-strike double by Ryan Flaherty to start the inning.
“If I get them in the dirt, maybe they’re swings and misses or ground balls,” Kelley said. “My slider is my go-to pitch, and if I get it down a little more, maybe it’s a different result.”
If the Yankees didn’t waste Brett Gardner’s leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth, they may have had a different result, as well.
Manager Joe Girardi opted to have Derek Jeter bunt Gardner over to third, but Jacoby Ellsbury hit a foul pop to third and after Brian Matusz walked Carlos Beltran intentionally, Brian McCann flied out to deep center.
McCann said he wasn’t surprised when he saw the Orioles walk Beltran, who had three hits, including a homer and a double.
“I would’ve done the same thing,” the struggling McCann said. “I knew it was coming. It’s weird because I don’t feel bad at the plate. I’m just not getting hits.”
Girardi stood by his decision to have Jeter bunt.
“It’s easier to score from third and with the speed there, there are so many [ways],” Girardi said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the defense. About anything’s going to score him except a popup in the infield. It’s different when the guy doesn’t run so well.”
Alfonso Soriano tried to get the Yankees back into it by starting the ninth with a double to right off Tommy Hunter. Kelly Johnson followed with a single, followed by a Brian Roberts sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
But Yangervis Solarte grounded into a double play to finish the game.
Tanaka, after another shaky beginning reminiscent of his first start in Toronto, was terrific as his outing progressed. He allowed a towering three-run homer to Jonathan Schoop in the second that stayed just inside the left-field foul pole, but then didn’t allow another run and wound up striking out 10. He retired the last seven batters he faced.
“It was just one pitch,” McCann said of Tanaka’s hanging slider that Schoop took advantage of.
The Yankees mounted a comeback in the bottom of the second. Beltran led off with his first home run in pinstripes and, after Miguel Gonzalez retired McCann and Soriano, Johnson made it a 3-2 game with another homer.
After Tanaka righted himself, the Yankees tied the game in the fourth — again sparked by Beltran. He started the inning with a double to right and moved to third on McCann’s fly out to right. Soriano drove Beltran in with a sharp groundout to short.
Tanaka’s performance, however, took a backseat to Kelley’s ninth-inning failure.
“It [stinks] I’m on the DL and [it] puts him into that spot,” said Robertson, out with a strained groin. “I wish I could take some of the pressure off.”