Yankees Masahiro Tanaka out to change his Opening Day woes

In Masahiro Tanaka’s three previous Opening Day starts for the Yankees, he’s 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA. Yet due to his Postseason experience, Tanaka believes this time versus the Orioles will be different.

With Luis Severino expected to begin the regular season on the injured list, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had the unenviable task of deciding which other starter would get the ball on Opening Day against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium on March 28.

Though the Yankee rotation is pretty fluid in terms of which pitcher is considered their No. 2 or No. 3 starter, it’s only natural that Boone chose Tanaka, who is entering his sixth year in pinstripes.

At 30, Tanaka is coming off an underrated 2018 season — one in which he went 12-6 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.128 WHIP and 159:35 K:BB ratio across 156 innings.

While the newly acquired James Paxton is coming off a career year, throwing him to the wolves on Opening Day (even if it is against the lowly O’s) would have been unnecessary. Paxton will get game two followed by fellow left-hander J.A. Happ in game three.

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For Tanaka, there’s no refuting the fact that he’s been miserable in his previous three Opening Days nods.

In those contests versus the Blue Jays, Astros and Rays, respectively (2015-17), the Yanks lost all three games while he succumbed to an 0-2 record with a 9.49 ERA while allowing 17 hits and four home runs in only 12.1 innings pitched.

Boone, who said he told Tanaka a few days ago that he’d get the start, is totally comfortable with Masa on the hill come March 28 at 1:05 PM. Per the NY Times:

"“It’s a celebration and an honor to get that start,” Boone said, and added later: “Once we get rolling into the season, it’s one game. No matter the result, bottom line, we’ll give the ball to Masahiro and we feel really good about it.”"

Tanaka, who admits that he must step up with the Yankees No. 1, Luis Severino out of action, knows he’ll pitch better this Opening Day rather than in years past because of his previous Postseason success. Per the NJ.com:

"“Through the years, I’ve had the opportunity to experience playoff games, and pitching in big games and I have that experience under my belt. Going into this Opening Day, I think that experience will help me perform better.”"

During Tanaka’s playoff performances, the right-hander has excelled, allowing five earned runs in 30 innings (five starts) for a 1.50 ERA and 0.800 WHIP. He was also the only Yankee starter to beat the World Champion Red Sox during last year’s ALDS.