Tanaka erases Yankees' concerns with career-high 13 Ks vs. Athletics

Cancel the CSI investigation. We found him.

Masahiro Tanaka, the New York Yankees ace who was uncharacteristically batted around in his last two starts for the club, quieted his doubters Friday with a masterful performance against the Oakland Athletics in which he struck out a career-high 13 batters and walked none in 7 1/3 innings.

After allowing a single to Adam Rosales in the seventh, Tanaka was replaced by reliever Tyler Clippard, though not before Yankee Stadium saluted the starter with a standing ovation.

Tanaka looked shaky at best in his previous two outings. He allowed 14 earned runs on seven homers in a combined 4 2/3 innings, and general manager Brian Cashman admitted the club did its research on what was wrong with the Japanese right-hander.

"We've done the 'CSI: The Bronx' on him a number of different times," Cashman said Thursday. "We've gone through the analytics comparison from when he's flying high to the current low. There are no indicators other than the splitter's not splitting like it usually does, and the command of the fastball is off."

According to Katie Sharp of RiverAveBlues.com, Tanaka became the first Yankee since Mike Mussina to post 13 or more strikeouts in a game with fewer than five hits and no walks. Mussina did it on Sept. 28, 2001, against his former side, the Baltimore Orioles.

Despite the reassuring performance, he wasn't eligible for the win, as Clippard allowed two runs in the eighth inning, with one of them charged to Tanaka.