The Yankees defeated their heated rivals, the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday by a score of 9-3. Rookie pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched another gem and improved to 3-0 on the season.

Tanaka's latest performance included a seven-inning outing with just two earned runs allowed. Both of Tanaka's runs against would be solo home runs and he responded excellently by not allowing a single run in six of the seven innings he pitched. To only allow two runs in Boston to the defending World Series champions in your fourth career start, at just 25 years old, is a great achievement.

As of April 23, Tanaka's statistics include: 3 wins, 0 losses, 29.1 innings pitched, 35 strikeouts, 2 walks, and a 2.15 earned run average.

A 17.5-1 strikeout to walk ratio is beyond ridiculous, and Tanaka's 35 strikeouts is currently tied for eighth in Major League Baseball. With Rodriguez still under suspension, Curtis Granderson playing in Queens, and Robinson Cano no longer playing for the pinstripes, Tanaka's great pitching couldn't be more valuable. Tanaka is not only putting up wins, strikeouts, and not walking batters, but he's also pitching long into games as well. Tanaka has pitched 29.1 innings in four starts, an average of more than seven innings per game.

C.C Sabathia isn't getting any younger and is showing signs of fatigue. At 25 years old and a balanced arsenal of pitches, Tanaka is now the best pitcher on the Yankees roster. If Tanaka can win more than 20 games and the Yankees make the playoffs, there's no reason Tanaka shouldn't receive MVP consideration. Tanaka's 35 strikeouts is the fourth most in MLB history through a pitcher's first four career starts. Only one pitcher has won the American League MVP since 1993, Justin Verlander in 2011.

Tanaka has faced many doubters along the road. Born in Japan, Tanaka played in multiple Pacific and International leagues that left some scouts skeptical if his game would transition to the American game. Tanaka is not only striking out his opponents at an historically high rate, he is showing great control. In his four starts, Tanaka has not hit a single batter at the plate and he has only allowed one runner to steal a base.

This is the first time in a long time that the Yankees will have to lean on their pitchers as opposed to their batters to make the playoffs. Yankees manager Joe Girardi took a big risk to start Tanaka's first game against the Red Sox in Boston, but it paid off. He recovered after allowing two solo home runs to defeat the World Series Champs. Girardi wanted to see how Tanaka would respond in one of the most hostile environments, and he answered.