Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is tentatively scheduled make his first major league start in more than two months on Sunday, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Tanaka, sidelined since early July with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, tossed five scoreless innings in an instructional league game at the Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa on Monday.
The All-Star hurler threw 65 pitches during the outing, allowing six hits and striking out four against a group of minor league hitters.
Girardi said he plans to have Tanaka throw between 70-to-75 pitches in Sunday's start against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"Obviously he's got to throw his bullpen again, which I don't suspect will be a problem, but he's got to do that," Girardi said. "He's pitching if he's OK."
The Yankees had been targeting a return for Tanaka before the conclusion of the regular season.
Tanaka went 24-0 with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in his native Japan last season before signing a seven-year, $155 million contract with the Yankees in January.
He was enjoying an outstanding first season in the US major leagues before he was hurt. He won 11 of his first 12 decisions and went 12-4 with a 2.51 earned run average over 18 starts.
Source: AFP