Despite being on an 80-pitch limit in his return, the Japan native allowed three hits, walking none and striking out a season-high nine on just 78 pitches. He reached 95 mph on his fastball in a strikeout of Kyle Seager in the seventh.
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“I think it was the best outing I have had so far after the season,” Tanaka said through a translator to YES.
Tanaka, 26, is now 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP and a 33:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 29 1/3 innings this season. He was pitching through a partial tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, an injury he suffered last season.
Check out the highlights from Tanaka’s outing:
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