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          New York Yankees

          Masahiro Tanaka, at least, is doing his best to bring Yankees back to respectability

          • Andrew Marchand, ESPN Senior WriterMay 5, 2016, 10:15 PM ET
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              Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »
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          BALTIMORE -- If you want a New York Yankees' road map to respectability, it covers a space that is 60 feet, 6 inches. For the Yankees to make some semblance of a competitive season, they are probably going to have to pitch their way out of it.

          The offense might be better than it has been -- it has to be, right? -- but it feels doubtful it will be anything like the unit that scored the second-most runs in baseball in 2015, which is, admittedly, a slightly counterintuitive thought considering they have basically the same players.

          So that will likely leave it on the starting staff to do enough to turn this last-place club into winners. If the Yankees can receive consistent starting pitching, more often than not they might be able to make it to the end of games with a lead so Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances and -- coming Monday -- Aroldis Chapman can dominate.

          The former ace of the staff, CC Sabathia, reached back to the past on Wednesday, throwing seven scoreless innings. On Thursday, the nominal ace, Masahiro Tanaka, dominated. He threw eight shutout innings, allowing just five hits, all singles, while striking out seven and walking one.

          The Yankees ended up losing 1-0 to the Baltimore Orioles. Betances barely escaped blowing his third game on this 2-7 road trip when Dustin Ackley made a leaping, ninth-inning catch on Matt Wieters's near homer. It ended up being a double play, forcing the game to extras, when the Orioles won it in the 10th as the Yankees started the inning with Johnny Barbato instead of closer Miller, which spelled doom.

          Tanaka is very good, but maybe not great. He is probably more of a really strong No. 2 or 3 starter rather than a No. 1. The Yankees need him to lead from the mound in 2016, however, if they are to have any shot.

          He looked excellent Thursday in his first outing ever at Camden Yards. The Orioles had no answers for him. It continued a nice start to 2016 for Tanaka.

          With his eight shutout innings, his ERA sank to 2.29 in six starts. Still, because of the Yankees' offense, he left with a no-decision. But he was the biggest reason the Yankees were in the game and -- along with the rest of the starters -- could be how the Yankees make something of this season.