A Yankees rotation that absorbed a blow earlier in the week took another one Saturday afternoon.
The club announced Masahiro Tanaka, who left Friday night's game against the Mets with tightness in both hamstrings after tagging and scoring on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, was placed on the disabled list with "mild strains" of his left and right hamstring. Popular utility man Ronald Torreyes was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
On Thursday, the Yankees officially lost left-hander Jordan Montgomery for the season when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
Neither of the Yankees' top pitching prospects, left-hander Justus Sheffield or right-hander Chance Adams, is on the 40-man roster, nor is lefty Josh Rogers, who has been the organization's most consistent performer to this point of the season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Tanaka reached base on an error to start the sixth Friday, eventually moving to third. He scored standing up, tying the score at 1 on Aaron Judge's sacrifice fly to short right. Tanaka crossed the plate awkwardly and walked gingerly into the Yankees dugout and quickly down the stairs leading to the clubhouse. Tanaka, who was outstanding after allowing Brandon Nimmo's leadoff homer in the first, did not come out for the bottom of the sixth, replaced by Jonathan Holder.
The scene likely reminded many Yankees fans of June 2008 when Chien-Ming Wang suffered a season-ending injury to his right foot running the bases in Houston, which at the time was in the National League.
"Can't really say yet," Tanaka said through his translator late Friday night, asked if he thought he would be able to make his next start. "We should have a clearer picture tomorrow."
That picture turned out not to be a good one for the Yankees.
