NEW YORK — Once Masahiro Tanaka overcame that early jolt from Jose Reyes, the Japanese rookie did just fine.
NEW YORK — Once Masahiro Tanaka overcame that early jolt from Jose Reyes, the Japanese rookie did just fine.
Tanaka gave up a home run to Reyes on the first pitch of the game, then earned his major league-high 11th victory as the New York Yankees beat Toronto 3-1 Tuesday night for their 14th straight home win over the Blue Jays.
That was the first time Tanaka could remember getting tagged so quickly and said it “threw me off my rhythm a little bit.”
“Overall, I think my stuff wasn’t really there,” he said through a translator.
Even so, Tanaka (11-1) struck out 10 in six innings and left with an AL-best 1.99 ERA. The right-hander has made 14 starts this season — he’s gone at least six innings in every outing and never permitted more than three earned runs.
“What he’s done is remarkable,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He wins.”
Brett Gardner hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole and the Yankees sent the AL East leaders to their seventh loss in 10 games.
Tanaka made his big league debut April 4 at Toronto and Melky Cabrera hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch.
Reyes provided an even faster start with a drive into the lower deck in right, and slapped his hands as he rounded first.
“I made up my mind before the game that I was going to swing at the first pitch,” he said. “You don’t want to face Tanaka with two strikes.”
Said Girardi: “He just threw a pitch right down the middle and up. Reyes knew what to do.”
“Reyes is familiar with this ballpark,” he said. “He went to the short part of the park.”
Cabrera followed with a liner between Tanaka’s legs that knocked off the pitcher’s glove. But Tanaka scrambled to retrieve the ball behind the mound and threw out Cabrera, and never again allowed a runner past second.
Tanaka gave up five hits and walked two in moving ahead of Toronto’s Mark Buehrle for the most wins in the majors. Buehrle starts Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium in the middle game of the three-game series.
RED SOX 2, TWINS 1
BOSTON — Brock Holt scored both Boston runs, Jon Lester weathered a shaky start and pitched six-plus strong innings as the Red Sox held off Minnesota.
Lester (8-7) has a winning record for the first time this season. The Red Sox have won two straight and four of six.
After needing 33 pitches to get out of the first inning on a hot, muggy night at Fenway Park, Lester settled down and took a shutout into the sixth. He left with one out in the seventh after striking out six and holding the Twins to one run, four hits and a walk.
Edward Mujica pitched the ninth and earned his second save.
Phil Hughes (7-3) took the loss for the Twins, who have dropped four straight.
PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 2
ATLANTA — Ryan Howard homered and Kyle Kendrick won consecutive starts for the first time in 11 months for Philadelphia.
The Phillies, winners of two straight and six of eight, got a solid start from Kendrick (3-6), who had gone 2-11 in his previous 20 starts since last Aug. 11. Kendrick allowed six hits and two runs with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings.
Atlanta has lost seven of 11 and 13 of 21.
Ervin Santana (5-4) continued to struggle, giving up eight hits and four runs with three walks in six innings. Santana, who struck out five, is 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA in his last seven starts.
BREWERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 5
PHOENIX — Jonathan Lucroy homered twice, including a grand slam in an eventful seventh inning, to lead Milwaukee past Arizona.
Lucroy’s slam to center came on Brad Ziegler’s first delivery after Arizona reliever Evan Marshall was ejected for hitting Ryan Braun with a pitch.
Marshall (2-2) took the loss, facing three batters without getting an out after relieving starter Mike Bolsinger, who was called up from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day.
Lucroy had a solo homer in the sixth. Aramis Ramirez also hit a solo shot for the Brewers.
Kyle Lohse (8-2), who had hit three batters all season, plunked two in his six innings, apparently leading to retaliation by Marshall. Lohse allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits.
MARINERS 6, PADRES 1
SEATTLE — Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer and Jesus Montero got his first big league homer in more than a year to help Seattle sweep a two-game set with San Diego.
Roenis Elias (6-5) allowed three hits and struck out six without a walk in seven strong innings. Dominic Leone and Danny Farquhar each pitched an inning in relief.
Cano’s fourth home run of the season gave the Mariners a 4-1 lead in the fifth and was enough to chase San Diego starter Eric Stults after the inning ended.
Stults (2-9) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk.
ROYALS 11, TIGERS 4
DETROIT — Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas homered as part of a seven-run second inning, and Kansas City took over first place in the AL Central with its ninth straight victory.
Gordon and Moustakas hit two-run shots off Max Scherzer, and Kansas City has won the first two games of this four-game series emphatically. The Royals, who trailed the Tigers by seven games after a May 20 loss, now lead Detroit by a half-game atop the division.
Scherzer (8-3) yielded a career high-tying 10 runs in four-plus innings.
Yordano Ventura (5-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.
ANGELS 9, INDIANS 3
CLEVELAND — Mike Trout homered twice and drove in four runs, and rookie Matt Shoemaker remained unbeaten as a starter as Los Angeles beat Cleveland.
Trout’s three-run homer in the fifth broke a 3-all tie and capped a four-run inning. He added a leadoff homer in the seventh. The two-time All-Star was 3 for 5, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, and has reached base safely in 35 of his last 36 contests.
Shoemaker (4-1) allowed two runs in a career-high eight innings. The right-hander is 4-0 in seven major-league starts, six this season. He also had a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Josh Tomlin (4-4) gave up six runs in 5 1-3 innings as Cleveland snapped a 10-game home winning streak.
MARLINS 6, CUBS 5
MIAMI — Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Miami rallied to beat Chicago.
Adeiny Hechavarria started the Marlins’ seventh with a bunt single for his fourth hit. Rafael Furcal had a two-out, two-run single in the fourth for his first RBIs since 2012.
Hard-luck Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings but was again denied a victory. The Cubs are 4-11 when he starts even though his ERA is 2.78.
Luis Valbuena’s RBI double in the seventh gave Chicago a 4-3 lead, but Miami rallied against Brian Schlitter (2-2).
Marlins rookie reliever Sam Dyson (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings for his first career win.
ORIOLES 7, RAYS 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Davis hit a replay-delayed grand slam to lead Baltimore past Tampa Bay.
Davis was awarded a slam off Erik Bedard (3-5) during a five-run third-inning after a video review showed his drive struck the foul pole. He reached second base on an opposite-field shot down the left-field line. The review that lasted 1 minute, 18 seconds revealed the ball hit the pole a few feet above the wall, and Davis was given a home run.
The Orioles also got a two-run homer from Steve Pearce.
Sean Rodriguez and Desmond Jennings homered for Tampa Bay, which is 5-16 in its last 21 games.
The Rays pulled within 5-2 in the bottom of the third when Rodriguez and Jennings hit consecutive solo homers off Miguel Gonzalez (4-4).
NATIONALS 6 ASTROS 5
WASHINGTON — Anthony Rendon doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Washington opened a six-game homestand with a win over Houston.
Ryan Zimmerman added two doubles and two RBIs as the Nationals snapped a four-game losing streak.
Tanner Roark (6-4) pitched five innings in winning his third straight start. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 14th save.
Houston’s Jose Altuve returned to the lineup, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. He was limited to one pinch-hitting appearance in the last three games after being hit on the right hand by a pitch.
Dallas Keuchel (8-4) came in 6-1 with a 1.33 ERA over his last seven starts, but struggled with his command.
DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 2
LOS ANGELES — Hanley Ramirez homered before leaving with a hand injury, and Zack Greinke pitched Los Angeles to a win over Colorado.
Matt Kemp also went deep and Carlos Triunfel hit his first major league home run after replacing Ramirez.
Greinke (9-3) gave up a run and three hits with five strikeouts in six innings, and tied St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright and Cincinnati’s Alfredo Simon for the NL lead in wins.
Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 20th save.
X-rays on Ramirez’s right hand were negative.
Jhoulys Chacin (1-5) gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings for the Rockies.
CARDINALS 5, METS 2
ST. LOUIS — Michael Wacha escaped a pair of jams with strikeouts, Yadier Molina hit his first homer in nearly four weeks and St. Louis won for the eighth time in nine games.
Wacha (5-5) gave up a run and five hits in six innings and Molina got his first homer since May 24.
David Wright hit his first homer since May 28, and Lucas Duda also connected for the Mets, who have lost 11 of 14.
Mets manager Terry Collins batted the pitcher eighth with Eric Young Jr. hitting ninth for the second straight game in an effort to stimulate the offense. During the 14-game slump, the Mets have scored two or fewer runs seven times.
Daisuke Matsuzaka worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Mets starter Jonathon Niese (3-4).
WHITE SOX 8, GIANTS 2
CHICAGO — Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo hit two-run home runs, John Danks pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak.
The slumping White Sox had managed a total of six runs during their skid.
Viciedo, who was just 2 for 23 on the homestand coming in, went 2 for 4. His fifth-inning blast ended a stretch of 51 at-bats without an RBI.
Danks (6-5) settled down after a somewhat slow start and gave up two runs — one earned — and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. In his last five starts, the left-hander is 3-1 with a 1.51 ERA.
Hunter Pence went 2 for 4 with a home run for the Giants, who have dropped four straight and seven of eight. Giants starter Matt Cain (1-5) allowed eight runs — seven earned — and 10 hits in five innings.
REDS 6, PIRATES 5
PITTSBURGH — Todd Frazier led off the ninth inning with a tiebreaking homer, lifting Cincinnati past Pittsburgh after the Reds’ bullpen blew a three-run lead.
Frazier’s team-leading 16th home run to center field came off closer Jason Grilli (0-2) and gave the Reds third fifth win in six games. Cincinnati (34-35) also got within one game of .500 on its ninth try.
Billy Hamilton had three hits and two stolen bases for the Reds, while Joey Votto had two hits and three RBIs. Frazier, Brandon Phillips and Ryan Ludwick added two hits apiece.
Logan Ondrusek (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings and the eighth and Aroldis Chapman got the last three outs for his 12th save.
ATHLETICS 10, RANGERS 6
OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Norris homered and drove in five runs, Stephen Vogt was 3 for 3 with two RBIs and Oakland held off Texas for its third win in four games.
Tommy Milone (5-3) won his fifth consecutive decision, matching his career-best, for the A’s. Milone gave up three runs and five hits over 5 2-3 innings in improving to 5-0 over his last eight starts. He walked one and struck out three.
Yu Darvish (7-3) lost his eighth straight to the A’s and the Rangers lost for just the second time in six games. Darvish allowed seven runs — four earned — and eight hits over 5-plus innings. He walked five and struck out eight, including Brandon Moss in the first for career strikeout 600.
Roughned Odor hit a home run, tripled and drove in three runs for the Rangers.