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Tanaka shelled for career-high 6 earned runs by Astros

Thomas B. Shea / USA TODAY Sports

Not even Masahiro Tanaka could quiet the powerful bats of the Houston Astros.

Tanaka, spotted a 6-0 lead in the second inning Saturday after a Brian McCann grand slam and a two-run homer from Chris Young, coughed up the advantage after yielding homers to Chris Carter, Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve.

The trio of homers, combined with RBI knocks from George Springer and Carter, allowed the Astros to hang a career-high six earned runs on the New York Yankees ace.

Here's a look at his line:

IP H R ER BB K
5 7 6 6 2 4

It's the second consecutive lackluster outing for Tanaka, who was bombed for seven runs - five earned - in his previous start against the Detroit Tigers. He surrendered four homers in his first seven starts, but has now yielded six long balls over his last two outings.

Tanaka acknowledged following the disappointing outing he's endured similar stretches while pitching in Japan and simply said, "I'll overcome this."

The strength of Tanaka's ailing pitching elbow is surely concerning for the Yankees leading up to his next scheduled start Friday in Tampa Bay. Manager Joe Girardi, however, downplayed the situation after the game.

"If you see a guy throwing 93, 94 (mph) and he's not grabbing his elbow, you feel pretty good about his health," Girardi said.

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