One night after getting shut down by James Shields, the Yankees exploded Tuesday night.
Every New York starter recorded a hit as the Yankees tagged much-maligned starter Carlos Rodon for 6 runs and 12 hits in 5 innings. Newly-named all-star Carlos Beltran helped lead the charge with a 3-for-5 effort, raising his slash line to .302/.341/.571. New York finished with 20 hits on the night, its highest total of the season.
On the pitching front Masahiro Tanaka rebounded from his last start, tossing 7.2 scoreless innings and lowering his ERA to 3.12. It was an absolutely brilliant performance from Tanaka, keeping Chicago off the board while the Yankees ran wild in a 9-0 win.
Tuesday was only the second time since 1978 that the Yankees recorded 20 hits and shut out their opponent. All in all, a very successful night for Bronx’s finest.
THE PLAY: IT’S NOT HEDY, IT’S HEADLEY (+.120 WPA)
The Yankees had already staked themselves to a 2-run at this point, but Chase Headley’s home run in the third inning marked where they really started to pull away. After Starlin Castro singled to open up the inning, Headley ripped the second pitch of the at-bat to left field for his second home run in as many days. Rodon has struggled with home runs this year, having already given up 15 bombs in just 92 innings this season after allowing only 11 in 139.1 innings in 2015.
TOP PERFORMERS
Yankees — Tanaka: 7.2 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K
White Sox — Adam Eaton: 2-for-4, only White Sox player to record more than one hit
NOTES
— Tanaka’s start came on an extra day of rest, which has boded well all season for the righty. Entering Tuesday’s start, Tanaka had a 1.24 ERA on five days rest, but a 5.28 ERA on a regular four day break. 71 of his 103 pitches tonight were strikes.
— After starting off the season on a sour note, Chase Headley continued his resurgence Tuesday night with a 3-hit performance. The third baseman is now hitting at a respectable .254/.331/.379 clip for the season despite not hitting his first home run until the middle of May.
— Chasen Shreve came into the game on the same day he was recalled from the minor leagues. Before being sent down to AAA, Shreve had allowed 11 earned runs and 17 hits in 19 innings of work. On Tuesday he threw the final 1.1 innings after Tanaka was removed and didn’t allow a baserunner. Luis Cessa was demoted to make room for Shreve, who last pitched in the bigs on May 25.
THE HIGHLIGHT: A-ROD PASSES DAVE WINFIELD
Alex Rodriguez keeps racking up the milestones. In his first at-bat of the night, A-Rod lined a basehit to left field for his 3,111th career knock, moving him into sole possession of 19th place on the all-time MLB hits list. Next up is the late Padres great Tony Gwynn with 3,141 hits.
UP NEXT
The Yankees take on the White Sox in the rubber match of their series at 8:10 p.m. Michael Pineda (3-7, 5.24 ERA) will take the hill and face off against Miguel Gonzalez (1-4, 4.88 ERA).
Photo Credit: Caylor Arnold / USA TODAY Sports