Masahiro Tanaka scheduled to start Tuesday in Baltimore
Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees looks on from the dugout before a game against the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium on June 12. Credit: Jim McIsaac
TORONTO — Masahiro Tanaka officially is ready to go.
The righthander, on the disabled list since June 9 with strains in both hamstrings, will start Tuesday night in Baltimore, Aaron Boone said Friday.
Tanaka pitched five innings in a rehab game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and experienced no issues.
“The report was really, really good,” Boone said. “We feel good about him making his next start with us.”
Boone said the plan, as of now, is for CC Sabathia to start the first game of Monday’s doubleheader against the Orioles, with a to-be-determined starter going in the second game.
The Yankees had indicated that Jonathan Loaisiga would be recalled to start one of those games, but Boone said that’s “not necessarily” going to be the case.
“He’s in the mix, [Luis] Cessa’s in the mix,” Boone said. “It’s something we’re talking about right now.”
No thanks
Toronto lefty J.A. Happ, a trade target of the Yankees who will start against Luis Severino on Saturday, politely declined to discuss the possibility of ending up in the Bronx.
“I’d prefer to talk about that maybe later on [this weekend],” Happ, 35, said Friday afternoon.
Happ, among the starters on the market whom the Yankees have been scouting, is 10-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 17 starts this season.
“A guy that throws a lot of fastballs, a guy that can pitch to both sides of the plate,” Boone said. “He’s got some deception in his delivery . . . He’s been a really good pitcher in this league for a while.”
Romine returns
Austin Romine (hamstring) was back in the starting lineup Friday night after Kyle Higashioka started the previous four games. “Hopefully fully recovered and through that little injury scare we had with him,” Boone said. “Higgy obviously did a nice job, but it is good to have Ro back.”
