Tanaka hurls three scoreless in rehab start

Masahiro Tanaka skipped the Minors when the Yankees signed him in 2014, but Thursday, he got his first taste of the farm.

In his first rehab start, the New York right-hander tossed three two-hit frames while striking out two as part of Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre's 4-3 win in 10 innings over Durham at PNC Field.

"I felt pretty good out there," Tanaka told MLB.com. "I was able to use all of my pitches, and I felt good. I feel confident in all of the pitches that I threw."

Tanaka hasn't pitched in a game since going on the disabled list on April 29 with right wrist tendinitis and a right forearm strain. He was on a pitch limit of 45.

Facing the Bulls, the 26-year-old threw 25 of his 41 pitches for strikes and did not issue a walk. After allowing a one-out double to Jake Elmore in the first inning, Tanaka retired the next seven batters. Taylor Motter singled in the third, but the RailRiders starter got a quick lineout to close out his start.

"I didn't approach this game any different than a normal game," he told MLB.com. "I was looking to throw all of my pitches with force, and I think that I did that tonight."

While the Yankees have not announced the next step for Tanaka, the pitcher told MLB.com he felt "absolutely no pain" in the injured area.

"I have to see how I feel [Friday]," Tanaka said. "Obviously, our trainers back in New York, along with my managers and coaches, will determine what my next step will be."

The Yankees' Opening Day hurler made four starts this season for New York, posting a 3.22 ERA with 24 strikeouts and seven walks over in 22 1/3 innings before getting injured.

After seven seasons of professional ball in Japan, Tanka was signed by the Yankees in January 2014 to a seven-year, $155 million contract. The 6-foot-2 hurler made 18 starts last year before hitting the disabled list on July 9 with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He returned in September to make two starts.

Seven innings after Tanaka exited, Ben Gamel knocked a walk-off single to second base to score Yankees' fifth-ranked prospect Rob Refsnyder.

In his second Triple-A outing this season, Mark Montgomery (1-0) worked around a walk and struck out one over 1 1/3 innings.

Rays' No. 27 prospect Dylan Floro allowed two hits while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings, but did not factor into the decision. Ronald Belisario (0-2) yielded a run on three hits while fanning one in 1 2/3 frames.