OAKLAND, Calif. -- With his surgically repaired right elbow no longer throbbing in pain, Masahiro Tanaka is back to pitching the way the Yankees envisioned when they outbid several teams to lure him from Japan two years ago.
Tanaka allowed one run over seven innings to get his first victory in more than a month and the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Saturday to win their season-high fourth consecutive in Joe Girardi's 1,500th game as a manager.
"I thought he was pretty good today," Girardi said. "He got in a couple of little jams and was able to wriggle his way out of it. He threw the ball well. We're happy with where he's at right now. He's answered all the questions."
Starlin Castro broke out of a slump with three hits and Carlos Beltran singled twice to keep up his recent tear as the Yankees won their third consecutive over the A's after getting swept by Oakland in the Bronx earlier this season.
Tanaka (2-0) had two walks and four strikeouts in his first victory since April 12.
It was the third game in which Tanaka has pitched on five days of rest. He has a 1.57 ERA in those games compared to the 5.68 mark he has when pitching with fewer days off.
"I don't think I was that different from last time out," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "We just had good offense going today. That's probably why we were able to win the game."
ROYALS 2, WHITE SOX 1 Lorenzo Cain hit a solo home run and five Kansas City pitchers combined to allow seven hits in the Royals' victory over host Chicago.
TWINS 5, BLUE JAYS 3 Eduardo Nunez hit a home run to cap a five-run rally in the eighth inning as host Minnesota broke loose to beat Toronto.
RED SOX 9, INDIANS 1 Joe Kelly pitched no-hit ball for 62/3 innings, Mookie Betts had a grand slam and a solo home run, and host Boston beat Cleveland.
TIGERS 5, RAYS 4 Michael Fulmer struck out 11 over seven innings and Cameron Maybin, James McCann (Arkansas Razorbacks) and J.D. Martinez all hit home runs to lift host Detroit to a victory over Drew Smyly (Little Rock Central, Razorbacks) and Tampa Bay.
RANGERS 2, ASTROS 1 Elvis Andrus hit his first home run of the season, Cesar Ramos pitched six solid innings and visiting Texas edged Houston. Ramos (1-2) yielded 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 4 in 6 innings for his first victory this year in his third start.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Jedd Gyorko, Matt Adams and Yadier Molina hit home runs, Mike Leake pitched seven scoreless innings and host St. Louis beat Arizona.
BRAVES 2, PHILLIES 0 Williams Perez took a two-hitter into the seventh, helping Atlanta beat host Philadelphia for just its second series victory this season.
METS 5, BREWERS 4 David Wright singled home the winning run on a 3-0 pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, and host New York rallied past Milwaukee.
ROCKIES 5, PIRATES 1 Christian Adames' first career home run capped a four-run ninth inning as visiting Colorado rallied to beat Pittsburgh.
GIANTS 5, CUBS 3 Matt Cain pitched six strong innings, Buster Posey added a two-run home run and host San Francisco beat Chicago.
MARLINS 3, NATIONALS 2 Jose Fernandez pitched six innings and then led the dugout celebration as host Miami beat Washington.
INTERLEAGUE
MARINERS 4, REDS 0 Franklin Gutierrez hit a three-run home run that landed high in the upper deck and Felix Hernandez allowed only four singles in six innings, leading Seattle to a victory over host Cincinnati on a day when they honored their shared star. The Reds gave away Ken Griffey Jr. bobbleheads depicting him in both uniforms, and they played a message from him on the videoboard.
Sports on 05/22/2016