TORONTO _ Masahiro Tanaka's spring training didn't inspire confidence he'd put a subpar 2017 behind him.
Still, the right-hander, who started three straight season openers as the Yankees unquestioned ace before Luis Severino wrested that away from him with his stellar 2017, maintained all was well.
"I feel like I'm in a good place right now," Tanaka said on the eve of his first start of 2018.
The right-hander was on to something.
Backed by big nights from bottom-of-the-order hitters Brandon Drury and Tyler Wade, Tanaka threw six dominant innings against the Blue Jays in a 4-2 victory Friday night in front of 33,716 at Rogers Centre.
Tanaka, coming off a season in which he pitched well down the stretch, including the postseason, but still finished 13-12 with a 4.74 ERA while allowing a career-worst 35 homers, allowed one run and three hits over six innings. The 29-year-old struck out eight and did walk a batter. He retired the final 13 hitters he faced, seven via strikeout.
Tanaka looked like a different pitcher Friday night from the one who allowed five homers in four spring starts in which he posted a 7.24 ERA.
The Yankees' big three righty sluggers of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez, which went a combined 6-for-14 with two home runs, three doubles and five RBIs in Thursday's opener, went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts Friday.
No matter. Others in the lineup picked them up, starting with the third baseman Drury, who drove in the club's first two runs.
Wade, who had two straight poor at-bats, knocked Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez from the game his third time up, roping a two-out, base-loaded double to right-center in the sixth to make it 4-1. Didi Gregorius tripled and doubled in the game.
Tommy Kahnle pitched 11/3 scoreless innings and David Robertson chipped in a scoreless two-thirds of a frame, setting up Aroldis Chapman. The closer struck out the first two in the ninth before Steve Pearce hit a pinch-hit double and former Yankee Yangervis Solarte doubled him in, brining Randal Grichuk, who homered off Tanaka in the second, to the plate as the tying run. After falling behind 2-and-0, Chapman struck Grichuk looking to end it for his first save.
Tanaka allowed a two-out double to Justin Smoak in the first inning but retired Curtis Granderson to end the nine-pitch inning.
The offense, despite bad base running by Gregorius, gave the pitcher a lead in the second.
Gregorius, batting cleanup, led off with a triple to center, his first triple since 2016. Sanchez followed with a ground smash to third. Gregorius left on contact and Solarte, the third baseman, easily threw him out at the plate. After Neil Walker flied out, rookie Billy McKinney, called up earlier in the day when Aaron Hicks went to the DL, singled in his first career at-bat, a ground shot to right that put runners on the corners.
Drury, who went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts Thursday, laced a 2-and-1 fastball off the top of the wall in right, the RBI double bringing in Sanchez for a 1-0 lead.
It did not last long.
Tanaka retired Solarte on a grounder to start the bottom half but grooved a first-pitch fastball to Grichuk, who crushed it to left for a homer that tied it at 1. It was the kind of pitch that plagued Tanaka much of last season.
After Tanaka struck out the side in the bottom of the third _ getting Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson on sliders and Smoak on a splitter _ Drury delivered again in the fourth.
Gregorius led off with a double and, after Sanchez fouled out, Walker drew a walk. McKinney's fielder's choice groundout put runners at the corners, Drury yanked a 1-and-0 fastball to left for an RBI single that made it 2-1.
