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SEATTLE – The Yankees have no idea who will take the mound for them when that will be the case.
Masahiro Tanaka may have already presented the most convincing argument for the post.
He made eight decisive innings in a 4-0 win against the Mariners, before 32.195 at Safeco Field on Friday.
Tanaka eliminated 10 players, walked none and allowed only one runner to reach third. At one point, he removed 14 batters in a row. After conceding a single to his former teammate Robinson Cano in the first set, he retired 14 consecutive Mariners, either by strikeout or at a standstill.
With Luis Severino in a seemingly endless funk, it may be that the Yankees decide between Tanaka or veteran southpaw J.A. Happ for the chance to start the Wild Card game of the American League.
Tanaka dominated the playoffs last year as the Yankees played in the seventh game of the AL championship series and started the 2015 defeat against the Astros.
What this means
The Yankees, who have lost two of their three games against the A, their likely opponent of the Wild Card, have won five of their last 10 games.
The Yankees also scored three and a half games in front of the A at the start of the day to welcome the Wild Card.
Bombs far
The Yankees quickly built their lead.
The two home races of Gleyber Torres (second run) and Andrew McCutchen (third run) gave a four-point lead that will last until …
For McCutchen, it was his first tour since he had joined the Yankees in an exchange with the Giants just before the deadline of last Friday's waiver.
This is Torres's 23rd stroke of the season and his 100th career success, making him the fourth youngest player in franchise history to reach the mark, behind Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Ben Chapman .
Both shots were high and far above the wall in the left field.
Masa-hero
Tanaka was excellent.
Mike Zunino broke the 14th end-to-end with a brace in the sixth inning and he reached third place when Jean Segura's solver deflected Tanaka's glove and bounced off the Didi Gregorius stoppage. See for a single.
It was the furthest away from Seattle players. Tanaka drew Cano in the next bat to end the inning.
Tanaka went into the night on a roll.
Entering Friday, he was 3-3 with an average of 2.63 points in his previous nine starts. His ERA season had dropped from 4.68 to 3.83 during the period.
He had three straight starts of at least seven innings and no home runs.
Injury report
The shortstop Didi Gregorius (left heel bruised) was removed from the list of injured Friday. He did not start but entered the sixth inning, pushing Adeiny Hechavarria to third. Miguel Andujar was removed from the match in what appeared to be a defensive replacement.
Right-field player Aaron Judge (fractured right wrist) has left his tee outdoors for the first time since arriving on the injured list in late July.
Next
The Yankees on the right Lance Lynn (8-10, 5.10 ERA) against right-wing Mariners Felix Hernandez (8-13, 5.55 ERA) at 21:10 EST Saturday at Safeco Field.
Brendan Kuty can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.
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