Sunday’s game between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels in the Bronx will feature an interesting matchup.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed on Tuesday that Masahiro Tanaka will pitch on Sunday. That means he will be going up against the Shohei Ohtani, who starts on Sundays for the Angels.
Both pitchers come from Japan. Ohtani is in his rookie season and has been a two-way sensation, serving as both a valuable pitcher and hitter for the Angels. Tanaka is in his fifth MLB season — all with the Yankees. He was an All-Star in his rookie season in 2014 and finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting in 2016. For his career, Tanaka is 57-30 with a 3.66 ERA.
Ohtani is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 40.1 innings this season. He’s also batting .321 with a .619 slugging percentage in 84 at-bats. The only thing missing is that Ohtani won’t be facing Tanaka as a hitter on Sunday since he doesn’t bat when he pitches.
