SEATTLE — If any Yankees fans remained paranoid that their team would somehow stumble out of the playoffs altogether, Friday night’s contest at Safeco Field provided considerable reassurance on that front.
With that out of the way, let’s puncture another outsized worry: Don’t sweat who starts the American League wild-card game. The bigger concern should be whether the Yankees have the rotation strength to withstand the Red Sox in the AL Division Series.
If Masahiro Tanaka can continue his current groove for another few weeks, that will be one giant leap for such an initiative.
Tanaka threw eight shutout innings to lead the Yankees to a 4-0 blanking of the Mariners, boosting their wild-card lead over Seattle to a commanding 10 games and lowering the Yankees’ magic number for clinching a playoff berth to 12.