New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka wore this gray Yankees road jersey during Game 1 of the 2017 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros on October 13th, 2017. Tanaka pitched six strong innings, surrendering only two runs on a pair of fourth inning singles from Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa. Unfortunately for Tanaka, the Yankees bats were still getting warmed up and the Bronx Bombers fell by a score of 2-1. They would take the Astros to seven games in this series, but the eventual World Series champions earned a 4-0 win in Game 7 to finish a classic series.

This button-down Yankees road jersey has “NEW YORK” sewn across the chest in navy and white tackle twill. Tanaka’s number “19” is sewn on the back of the jersey in navy and white tackle twill below a MLB logo patch. A black memorial armband in honor of Gene “Stick” Michael is sewn on the left sleeve. A 2017 Postseason patch is sewn on the right sleeve. The sides and back tail of this jersey are constructed of a gray mesh fabric. A Majestic size “52” tag and a Yankees barcode tag are applied to the front left tail. Tanaka has signed the “9” digit on the back of the jersey in silver marker. This jersey comes with a MLB Authenticated hologram (JC 009851) and a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (A12423).

Also included in this lot is an Official Major League Allan H. Selig baseball used during Tanaka’s third career start on April 16th, 2014 against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka pitched a gem in this game, going eight strong innings while striking out 10 and allowing only two hits. Shawn Kelly pitched a scoreless ninth to save the Yankees 3-0 win and clinch Tanaka’s second career victory. This baseball has been signed on the sweet spot by Tanaka in blue pen. It comes with a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for Tanaka’s signature (A12426) and a MLB Authenticated hologram (HZ 102828) that authenticates the use of the ball to the April 16th contest.

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