http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/sports/baseball/ny-yankees-tampa-bay-rays-masahiro-tanaka.html 2016-09-23 02:49:43 Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka to Miss Next Start With Forearm Strain The injury to Tanaka, the Yankees’ ace, was an unwelcome blow as the team fights for a wild-card spot. === ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When He reached down and knocked on the wooden bench. “The last time we talked about that, didn’t something happen?” Girardi said warily. A day later, Girardi’s apprehensiveness proved to be warranted as he revealed that Masahiro Tanaka, the ace of his pitching staff, would miss his next start on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays with tightness in his lower forearm. After five days without throwing, Tanaka could return in the final weekend of the season. For a team that is in the thick of a six-team scrum pursuing the two American League wild-card berths — the Yankees began Thursday two and a half games behind the Baltimore Orioles, but also needing to pass four other teams — missing a start from their best pitcher is an unwelcome blow. The announcement came after Tanaka allowed four solo home runs in one inning of “After the game yesterday, he complained of a little soreness,” Girardi said. “We don’t want to alarm people, and don’t take this as doom and gloom: He’s got in his flexor mass a slight, slight, slight strain.” Tanaka said the injured area was just above his wrist, which Girardi said eased his concern because it was not in the area around his elbow. But any time Tanaka’s arm has been sore, it has set off alarms since he was diagnosed two years ago with a slight tear in his elbow ligament that put him out of action for two months. Doctors advised Tanaka that he could still pitch with the injury and did not need Tommy John surgery, which would have cost him about 12 months and put his career in peril. He spent more than a month on the disabled list last season with wrist tendinitis and a forearm strain, then Injury concerns had seemed to be a thing of the past for Tanaka, who emerged this season as worthy of Cy Young Award consideration. He is 14-4 with a 3.07 E.R.A., the best in the American League. The Yankees were also encouraged that he made 31 starts this season and has thrown 199 ⅔ innings. But when Tanaka told the pitching coach Larry Rothschild after Wednesday’s game that he had soreness in his forearm and wanted to get it massaged out, the team sent him for a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Thursday, which revealed the injury. “I’d rather it not be anywhere, but from what we’ve been told it’s nothing to do with the U.C.L. or anything, which is good news,” Rothschild said, referring to the ulnar collateral ligament, in which Tanaka had a tear. “It would be nice if there wasn’t anything.” Tanaka described the sensation in his arm as tightness rather than soreness and said it had nothing to do with the home runs he allowed. He said he expected to return for one more start against the Orioles in the final weekend. “It’s very disappointing,” he said through an interpreter. “We’re making a push to the playoffs. It’s a very important time for us. This is definitely not the time you want to skip anything, so it is disappointing.”