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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Masahiro Tanaka struggled a bit in one of his final tuneups for the regular season, allowing three runs while pitching into the sixth inning, but the New York Yankees still beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 victory Saturday.
Facing a close approximation of the Minnesota Twins’ opening-day lineup, Tanaka yielded five hits and a walk in 5 1-3 innings. The high-priced Japanese star walked just one, Joe Mauer in the third inning, and struck out six before a Hammond Stadium sellout crowd of 9,298.
This was the fourth appearance of the spring for Tanaka, who allowed one run in 4 1-3 innings against the Atlanta Braves his previous outing.
Scott Sizemore’s two-run single keyed a four-run fourth for the Yankees, who left most of their regulars back in Tampa.