Spring training games can be looked at in a different ways. One, they’re a chance to get locked in and ready for the upcoming regular season. Two, they’re a chance to get all of the bad stuff out of the way. The New York Yankees are hoping for the former while the Detroit Tigers are hoping for the latter.
Yankees’ pitchers Masahiro Tanaka, Chasen Shreve and Jordan Montgomery combined for a no-hitter against the Tigers.
#StartSpreadingTheNews, it's a #NYYSpring no-hitter!
Tanaka, Shreve and Montgomery give up 👌 hits combined and the #Yankees win, 3-0! pic.twitter.com/h9GVuXSr9R
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 17, 2017
Tanaka went 4.1 innings, walked two and struck out six. Shreve finished the fifth inning for him and recorded one strikeout. Montgomery went the rest of the way, striking out two hitters while walking none over four innings.
To cut the Tigers a little slack, their lineup is largely gutted. They have more representatives at the World Baseball Classic than any team, including offensive stalwarts Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Still, no hits, even in a spring training game, is hard to stomach.
New York has a lot to be happy about. The no-hitter is good, but the Yankees should be even more encouraged by another dominant performance of their ace, Tanaka.
.@t_masahiro18 has thrown 8.1 hitless and scoreless innings with 13K and 2BB over his last two starts, holding opponents to 0-for-25.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) March 17, 2017
That’s certainly something they hope will continue into the regular season.