The Yankees top 2 starters, Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda, were called upon to start the opening two games of the season against the Astros. Here are my reactions to their performances.
Masahiro Tanaka (left) and Michael Pineda Photo: Getty Images; Andrew Theodorakis
Tanaka: In his opening day start against the Houston Astros, Tanaka allowed 2 earned on 4 hits through 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four. While not a bad start by any stretch of the imagination, it’s hard to not be left wanting more as a Yankee fan. He did look sharp against most batters he faced, but it’s a shame he couldn’t pick up an opening day win. The hanging splitter he left up for a home run against Carlos Correa was not a pitch that is expected by a player purchased for over $150 million dollars.
Pineda: Michael Pineda kicked his season off with a very poor couple of innings to start the Yankees second game against the Astros, giving up five runs. Luckily for him, the Yanks were able to tally 9 runs during that same stretch of time. To my surprise, Pineda was left in the game for another three innings. During those three innings you could tell he was much more dialed in and he started to look like the great pitcher we are expecting to see this season. In total, Pineda gave up 6 earned on 6 hits through 5 innings pitched. His most concerning stat of the day was the 3 home runs given up. He needs to keep the ball in the park in his next few starts to get his confidence back.
~Gregory Hold