The Yankees are in the thick of the AL East race for two reasons and both were on display in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.
First, Toronto is hardly a powerhouse, keeping the division up for grabs.
The other reason? Masahiro Tanaka.
Tanaka, despite not being particularly crisp, still whiffed 10 Blue Jays in six innings and after Jose Reyes' homer to lead off the game, was excellent again and made Brett Gardner's third-inning, two-run home run stand up.
He improved to 11-1 and the Yankees are now 12-2 in his 14 starts this season — opposed to 24-31 when someone else takes the mound.
"He's extremely important to our rotation, but we haven't put any more pressure on him than we would on anyone else," Joe Girardi said before the game.
But the manager couldn't help but admit how important the rookie right-hander has been to whatever chance the Yankees have this season.
"Obviously, the success he's had is a big part of the reason we're over .500," Girardi said before his team improved to 36-33 to pull to within 3½ games of first-place Toronto. "We don't try to put any more importance on his starts."
And yet there's no denying the Yankees are a different team when Tanaka pitches.
Tuesday was his fourth straight start in which he gave up two runs or fewer since surrendering four in his lone loss to the Cubs.
This was his second outing against the Blue Jays, and just like in his major league debut, Tanaka gave up a leadoff homer. Melky Cabrera did it on April 4 and Reyes did it Tuesday.
Though the Blue Jays (41-31) managed to get five hits off Tanaka, who also issued a pair of walks and hit a batter, they weren't able to do any further damage. Dellin Betances and David Robertson closed out the win with three shutout innings, striking out five more Blue Jays.
At 76 pitches through four innings, it was unclear how long Tanaka would last, but he came back to strike out the side in order in the fifth and pitch around a two-out double in the sixth.
Gardner again provided all the offense Tanaka needed when he lined a 2-1 pitch off the netting on the right-field foul pole with one out in the third following Kelly Johnson's double.
The left fielder also helped make it an early night for Toronto starter Marcus Stroman (3-2) with a 12-pitch at-bat to open the bottom of the first before he grounded to second. Stroman, a Long Island native, lasted just 3 2/3 innings, but surrendered only two runs.
The Yankees added an insurance run in the fifth when Mark Teixeira singled in Derek Jeter to make it 3-1.
It was a good way to start a six-game homestand and a stretch of 15 games against divisional opponents, especially considering the Yankees had dropped 12 of their previous 17 in The Bronx.
Before the game, Jeter was asked what he thought of the 2014 Yankees.
"It's a team that battles," Jeter said. "A team that continues to grind."
Perhaps, but that's likely not what Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman had in mind when they threw their goal of a $189 million payroll out the window before this season and brought in high-priced veterans like Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.
But injuries and subpar performance have combined to prevent the Yankees from meeting expectations.
Tanaka has helped them survive all of that.
"Obviously, Tanaka is the best pitcher on the planet," CC Sabathia said with a laugh before the game.
Maybe not, but he's clearly the best pitcher in The Bronx.
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