By ,
Published February 05, 2015
Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 over six innings to become the majors' first 11-game winner this season, while the New York Yankees continued their home dominance of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 3-1 victory that opened a key three-game series.
Tanaka (11-1) shook off a solo homer by Jose Reyes on the game's first pitch to shut down the Blue Jays over the remainder of his stint, with Brett Gardner putting the Japanese sensation in line for another win by drilling a two-run homer off Marcus Stroman in the third inning.
With Tanaka leading the charge, Toronto hitters fanned a total of 15 times on the evening en route to their 14th consecutive defeat at Yankee Stadium, the longest active streak by one team at a particular venue.
"What he's done is remarkable," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi of Tanaka. "He has been a big part of our success this year and continues to grind out starts, make adjustments and give us distance. He wins."
Derek Jeter and Kelly Johnson each had two hits and a run scored to help New York halt a two-game skid.
Stroman (3-2) allowed just two runs, but lasted only 3 2/3 innings while throwing 98 pitches.
Reyes' game-opening blast into the right-field seats ended up as the Blue Jays' lone offensive highlight, as Toronto mustered only three hits after the first inning against Tanaka and relievers Dellin Betances and David Robertson.
Tanaka struck out the heart of the Jays' lineup in order during a dominant fifth, with Betances later adding three more punchouts over two perfect frames before Robertson kept Munenori Kawasaki stranded after a two-out triple in the ninth to register his 17th save.
"We had some good at-bats, we hit some balls hard early on, and then it just disappeared," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons remarked. "[Tanaka] pretty much shut us down. But he's good. There's a reason he's doing what he's doing."
Stroman breezed through the first two innings, but was reached for a double by Johnson in the third and Gardner followed with a line drive that struck the foul pole in right to put the Yankees in front.
New York tacked on its final run against Aaron Loup in the fifth when Jeter singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a Mark Teixeira base hit.
Game Notes
The win was the 600th for Girardi as Yankees' manager, making him the sixth in franchise history to reach the milestone ... New York's 14-game home streak over the Jays is the longest by one team over another since Toronto topped Baltimore 16 straight times at Rogers Centre from 2009-11 ... Tanaka became the first Yankee to start a season 11-1 since Roger Clemens in 2001 ... The Yankees are 24-5 all-time when Gardner homers in a game ... Kawasaki was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo prior to the game, with Toronto sending 2013 All-Star reliever Steve Delabar to the minors.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tanaka-wins-11th-as-yanks-down-jays