Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka allowed two hits including a solo home run in his first spring start for the New York Yankees on Thursday, but otherwise kept the Philadelphia Phillies quiet in his three innings of a 4-3 win.
The 25-year-old Tanaka, who took the mound after heavy thundershowers delayed the game's start by 90 minutes, commanded the zone with his fastball and unleashed a nasty splitter to record his only strikeout. He threw a total of 41 pitches, 25 for strikes, and retired seven of 11 batters on ground balls.
The former Tohoku Rakuten ace gave up a double to right-center in the second inning, and with two outs in the third served up a 3-1 fastball that Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis drove out of the park. Tanaka did not factor into the decision, as he finished his three innings with the Yankees down 1-0.