What Was Tanaka's Problem Last Night?

(Courtesy of Texas Leaguers)

In a nutshell, that's it right there.  Bad sinker command.  Tanaka couldn't get his sinker down in the zone last night, he gave up 3 leadoff hits on the pitch, and all 3 of those hits came around to score.  It wasn't like the Cubs knocked him all over the park.  The 4 runs they scored against Tanaka came on 2 GB singles and 2 sac flies.  But they did hit him fairly hard and it was what they did against his off sinker that set them up.  That and the flat slider that Tanaka couldn't get down when he needed to either.

The strategy was exactly what I expected it to be.  Tanaka threw more 4-seamers and more sliders than he did the first time he faced the Cubs.  He just didn't execute his pitches as well this time.  It happens.