NEW YORK _ Masahiro Tanaka hasn't resembled the pitcher he was last season when he contended for the American League ERA title.
But he's closing in fast.
His fourth start of the campaign Wednesday night was by far his best and, backed by homers from Chase Headley, Starlin Castro, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks, Tanaka and the Yankees cruised to a 9-1 victory over the White Sox on a crisp 46-degree night at the Stadium.
The Yankees (10-5), who went 8-1 on their nine-game homestand, start a six-game trip Friday in Pittsburgh, followed by three games in Boston.
Tanaka (2-1), who lugged an 8.36 ERA into the night, allowed one run, six hits and two walks over a season-best seven innings. The right-hander, with as good a split as he's had early this season, struck out six.
The Yankees' offense, which entered the game fourth in the AL in runs (68), was too much for right-hander Dylan Covey (0-1), making just his second career start.
The 25-year-old allowed eight runs and 10 hits in five innings.
Castro's three-run homer in the fifth followed by another moonshot by Judge opened up a somewhat close game, the back-to-back blasts making it 8-1. Judge, whose blast landed in the upper rows of bleachers in left, a seldom-reached area of the Stadium, leads the club with five homers.
Hicks, pinch hitting in the eighth, homered off righty Michael Ynoa to make it 9-1.
Tanaka went 3-and-2 to each of the first two hitters, Tyler Saladino and Tim Anderson, and struck both out swinging at splitters. Melky Cabrera flied softly to left to end the 15-pitch inning.
In the bottom half Brett Gardner, in a 2-for-27 skid, got ahead 3-and-1 before lining a fastball into the gap in right-center for a double. Center fielder Leury Garcia misplayed the ball, the error allowing Gardner to take third.
Headley, batting second for the first time this season, then stepped into a flat 1-and-1 fastball and crushed it into the Yankees bullpen in right-center for his third homer of the season and a 2-0 lead.
Tanaka pitched out trouble in the second. Jose Abreu, in a 0-for-19 slump, led off by yanking a double past a diving Headley down the third base line and Avisail Garcia, who hit a key three-run homer Tuesday night, walked.
Then a break.
Cody Asche smashed one to short where Ronald Torreyes backhanded the one-hopper and turned it into a 6-4-5 double play.
The Yankees tacked on in the bottom half.
Judge improved to 8-for-26 on the homestand with a leadoff single to right, and Greg Bird, just 4-for-33 on the season to that point, took a 2-and-1 pitch the opposite way into the gap in left-center for a double. Austin Romine punched a single to center to make it 3-0 and Torreyes' 6-4 fielder's choice brought in Bird to make it 4-0.
Tanaka retired the White Sox in order in the third but allowed a run in the fourth.
Anderson jumped on a first-pitch sinker and sent it off the wall in left-center for a double. After Cabrera grounded to second, Abreu, also swinging at a first-pitch sinker, doubled to left to make it 4-1. Avisail Garcia walked on five pitches but Tanaka stopped it there.
He struck out Asche swinging at a splitter, then got Sanchez to ground back to him for an easy 1-3 putout to end the inning.
Tanaka made quick work of the White Sox in the fifth, needing nine pitches to set them down in order on three ground outs.
A two-out rally put it away in the fifth, with Matt Holliday and Jacoby Ellsbury singling to set up Castro, who put things away.
