The New York Yankees might want to skip Masahiro Tanaka's turn in the rotation the next time they play the rival Boston Red Sox.
Tanaka had a historically bad start Thursday night at Fenway Park, where the right-hander allowed 12 (!) earned runs on 12 hits.
He also gave up three walks and two home runs on 87 pitches through 3 1/3 innings. The Yankees and Red Sox have been playing against each other for more than 100 years, and no New York pitcher has ever given up as many earned runs in a single start versus Boston as Tanaka did in the series opener.
The Red Sox ultimately won 19-3 -- their biggest win against the Yankees in more than a decade.
Tanaka now has allowed 18 earned runs, 18 hits, three home runs and five walks in just four innings against the Red Sox this season. His ERA of 40.50 versus the Red Sox is nearly four times worse than his ERA against any other team. Red Sox hitters are hitting an astounding .593 against the veteran starter this year.
The Yankees will look to rebound Friday night when James Paxton takes the mound. He'll square off against newly acquired Red Sox starter Andrew Cashner, who struggled in his first two starts for Boston since arriving from the Baltimore Orioles via trade earlier this month.
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