NEW YORK — At the start of a tough week for his team, Masahiro Tanaka made things look easy on the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays again.
Tanaka pitched a career-best two-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his fourth major league shutout, and the New York Yankees beat Tampa Bay 3-0 on Monday night to increase their slim lead in the AL East.
“You could tell he could smell the finish line,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Big-time performance to kick off this series for us.”
DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer off Yonny Chirinos, and Cameron Maybin went deep in his third consecutive game. That was all a dominant Tanaka (5-5) needed while throwing 76 of 111 pitches for strikes in New York’s first complete game since his gem at Tampa Bay last July.
Edwin Encarnación received an enthusiastic ovation from fans in his Yankees debut after being acquired from Seattle in a trade late Saturday night. Batting fifth as the designated hitter, the veteran slugger went 0 for 4 with a strikeout his first time up.
“It’s very exciting to wear the uniform,” he said.
New York won the opener of a three-game series and moved 1½ games ahead of second-place Tampa Bay. Once the Rays leave town, AL West-leading Houston arrives for four games.
Tanaka has won consecutive starts for the first time winning three in a row last September. He’s gone the distance seven times in all since coming over from Japan before the 2014 season.
But in a bit of a surprise, he felt he got lucky in this one.
“My pitches weren’t as sharp as I wanted them to be,” Tanaka said through a translator.
Maybin, his days in pinstripes perhaps numbered, finished 3 for 3 with two singles. He homered leading off the fifth inning and scored on LeMahieu’s two-out shot in the third.
Tanaka retired his first nine batters before Austin Meadows singled sharply off the right field wall to start the fourth. A two-out single in the fifth by Willy Adames was Tampa Bay’s only other hit.
“He didn’t miss any spots. He was very precise,” Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe said. “I feel like every time he’s come out against us, he’s had really good stuff and it was almost like tonight was a little bitter than the rest and you have to tip your cap to him. He was better than us tonight.”
Around the league
BRAVES 12,
METS 3
ATLANTA — Mike Soroka won his eighth straight decision, Ozzie Albies homered and drove in four runs, and surging Atlanta beat New York.
Nick Markakis hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the fifth inning as the NL East-leading Braves improved to 13-3 in June, best in the majors this month. Atlanta has won 10 of its last 11.
New York lost for the 12th time in 16 games away from Citi Field.
Soroka’s winning streak is the longest in the majors by a pitcher under 22 since Dontrelle Willis won the same number for the 2003 Florida Marlins.
Soroka (8-1) gave up three runs, six hits and allowed just his third homer in 12 starts this year, a solo shot by Robinson Canó in the sixth. He walked one and struck out two in six innings.
Wheeler (5-5) allowed five runs — four earned — and 10 hits in six innings.
ANGELS 10,
BLUE JAYS 5
TORONTO — Justin Upton homered on the first pitch he saw in his return from the injured list, Mike Trout had a solo homer among his four hits and Los Angeles used a seven-run second inning to beat Toronto.
Shohei Ohtani and Kole Calhoun also connected in the second for the Angels, who have won all four meetings with Toronto this season.
Toronto rookie Cavan Biggio hit two home runs for the second multihomer game of his brief career. Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer, but the Blue Jays lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Trout finished a triple shy of the cycle. He flied out in the first, doubled in the second, singled in the fourth, homered in the sixth, and singled again in the eighth.
Luis Garcia opened for the Angels and gave up Biggio’s homer in the first. Felix Pena (5-1) followed and allowed four runs and six hits in six-plus innings.
REDS 3,
ASTROS 2
CINCINNATI — Nick Senzel returned from an eye injury and drove in a pair of runs and Luis Castillo pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning, leading Cincinnati over Houston.
Castillo (7-1) allowed a pair of singles and walked a career-high six batters, leaving with two on and no outs in the seventh. Shortstop Jose Peraza’s throwing error let in a run, and Michael Brantley doubled home another.
Closer Raisel Iglesias escaped an eighth-inning threat when Tony Kemp grounded out with runners on second and third. Manager David Bell made an unorthodox move to finish it, yanking Iglesias and bringing in Michael Lorenzen with a runner aboard to get the last two outs and his third save.
Wade Miley walked three in the fifth inning, setting up a three-run rally. Senzel singled home two, and Eugenio Suarez’s single completed the rally. The left-hander gave up four hits and a season-high four walks in 4 1/3 innings around a 52-minute delay due to storms.
CARDINALS 5,
MARLINS 0
ST. LOUIS — Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter homered to back a strong outing by Miles Mikolas and lead St. Louis over Miami.
Mikolas (5-7) snapped a career-high losing streak of five straight decisions. He had not won a game since May 6 against Philadelphia. Mikolas went six innings, scattering six hits and striking out four.
Giovanny Gallegos pitched the seventh followed by a five-pitch eighth inning by John Gant. Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth to preserve the shutout.
It was the 13th time the Marlins have been shut out in their 45 losses this season.
Miami’s Elieser Hernandez (0-2) gave up five hits while striking out six in six innings in his second start,
St. Louis has won four of its last five games and six of its last eight. Miami has lost nine of its last 11 games.
RANGERS 7,
INDIANS 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — Lance Lynn had another quality start, Danny Santana homered and the Texas spoiled Mike Clevinger’s return from the injured list.
Lynn (8-4) struck out nine without a walk and gave up one run over seven innings.
Santana hit a two-run homer after Willie Calhoun’s two-out walk in the fourth. Clevinger was done after consecutive two-out walks in the fifth, with both of those scoring to make it 5-1 when Elvis Andrus doubled on reliever Tyler Clippard’s second pitch.
Clevinger (1-1) struck out seven and walked three in his first start since April 7.
Francisco Lindor and Oscar Mercado hit solo homers for Cleveland.
Santana singled in the sixth for his third consecutive multi-hit game.
RED SOX 2,
TWINS 0
MINNEAPOLIS — Rick Porcello pitched seven shutout innings for Boston to outduel Minnesota ace Jose Berrios.
The Red Sox stretched their winning streak to a season-high six straight games.
Porcello (5-6) allowed only four hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
Berrios (8-3) struck out 10 batters in a season-most eight innings, with five hits and no walks allowed. An RBI single by J.D. Martinez in the first was the only run he allowed. Xander Bogaerts gave the Red Sox insurance with an RBI double in the ninth.
Ryan Brasier pitched a 1-2-3 inning for his seventh save in 10 attempts.
The Red Sox (40-34) moved a season-high six games above .500 by handing the highest-scoring team in the major leagues its second shutout of the year. The Twins (47-24) have their fifth two-game losing streak of the season. They’ve yet to lose three in a row.