Nationals 1 - 6 Yankees
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Yanks, Nats clash in the Bronx

Jun 9, 2015 - 12:24 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Masahiro Tanaka tries to pitch the New York Yankees to a seventh straight win on Tuesday when they open a brief two-game series with the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium.

New York had lost eight of 11, including a two-game sweep at the hands of the Nats, but has responded with wins in seven of its last eight games and now sits atop the American League East standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, as they homered three times in a 6-2 win. New York homered seven times in the three-game set and has now left the yard in 14 of its last 16 games and has hit at least two in six of the last nine home contests.

CC Sabathia (3-7) picked up the win, but was ejected along with manager Joe Girardi after arguing pitch location after the sixth inning. Sabathia struck out seven and allowed two runs and five hits before his day was cut short.

"To throw my pitcher out for asking where a pitch is, not giving him enough - I have a problem with that," Girardi said.

Getting the call on Tuesday will be Tanaka, who was dominant in his return from a month long stint on the disabled list Wednesday in Seattle. Tanaka held the Mariners to a run and three hits over seven innings to win his third straight decision since losing on Opening Day. He also struck out nine and lowered his ERA to 2.76.

"It was a good outing, but it's just one outing," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "I can't be too high about that. Right now, maybe I'll celebrate today, but starting tomorrow I'll look forward to my next outing and work on my stuff."

Pitching with a slight tear in his right elbow, Tanaka had been sidelined with a forearm strain.

"He looked pretty good to me," Girardi said. "Obviously, we'll all wait to see how he feels tomorrow, but there's no inkling that his stuff wasn't there. This is the highest velocity that we've seen from him. I think that was good for us, and it's good to have him back."

Washington will counter with an impressive hurler of its own in righty Max Scherzer, who had a five-game winning streak stopped his last time out. Scherzer was roughed up by the Toronto Blue Jays last Tuesday to the tune of four runs and six hits in six innings, dropping him to 6-4 on the year to go along with a 1.85 ERA.

Scherzer is 4-2 in six starts versus the Yankees with a 3.79 ERA.

Washington will need a strong start from the former AL Cy Young Award winner following a series loss to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend that culminated with a 6-3 loss on Sunday.

Jordan Zimmermann (5-3) failed to record a quality start for the first time since April 29 in the loss and was tagged for four runs on 10 hits and two walks in just five innings of work.

The Nats have now lost eight of 10 overall and trail the New York Mets by a half game in the NL East.






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