Tanaka throws first rehab game after being put on DL

Masahiro Tanaka threw his first rehab game after being put on the DL with an elbow strain.

Last night he pitched three innings with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the AAA team of the Yankees.

Eventhough he claimed to have pitched pain free, he wasn’t really special, but good enough to keep the Durham Bulls at bay. Still some concern may remain. In the  first inning two pitches were hit hard for a fly out and a double, but the flyout  almost cleared the outfield fences. In the third another hit almost left the stadium. In three innings, Tanaka allowed two hits and struck out two.

Through an interpreter Tanaka said that he was able to throw all his pitches and that he felt pretty good and confident.

He tried to pitch with power and except for the two hits that almost cleared the fences he kept the Durham Bulls in check rather well. After Tanaka was pulled, the Bulls took a 3-0 lead before the RailRiders tied it in the eighth inning. Eventually in the tenth inning Rob Refsnyder scored the winning run on a single hit by Ben Gamel.