New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka said Monday he is eager to take the mound for his first postseason start as a major leaguer.
Two years after he led the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to its only pennant in the Pacific League and followed that with a huge performance in the Japan Series, Tanaka will take center stage in the United States, going against the Houston Astros' Cy Young Award candidate Dallas Keuchel in Tuesday's American League wild-card game.
"This is different from the regular season," Tanaka told reporters at Yankee Stadium. "This kind of single-game knockout play is something I haven't experienced since high school. My opposite number is a quality pitcher. What's important is that however I can, I want to prevent runs and turn it over to the bullpen with us in the game.