New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is slowly regaining his deadly form and the Japanese pitcher showed no signs of recent injuries in their 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday at the Yankee Stadium.

Tanaka, who played in his second game since being placed on the disabled list in April because of a right forearm strain, gave up just one run and five hits in seven innings with six strikeouts.

Tanaka, who was struggling to regain his form earlier in the season after missing the majority of his rookie year due to a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, outplayed fellow star pitcher Max Scherzer, who allowed four runs and eight hits in 6.2 innings.

"Obviously, I knew who I was going up against today, a good pitcher," Tanaka said via New York Times. "But still, I've only had one year and a little bit here, so still I have to sort of build myself up to being a better pitcher."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi had nothing but praises for Tanaka, saying that the Japanese ace really likes playing in big stages and he showed it once again in his matchup against Scherzer on Tuesday.

"I think he enjoys the stage. I do," Girardi said via ESPN. "I think that's one of the reasons he came to New York, too, because I think he likes the competition and the excitement of pitching here."

Tanaka, who was also on target during their 3-1 win against Seattle Mariners last week, has now tallied 15 strikeouts against just two runs and eight hits allowed in 14 innings since returning to action. He threw 95 mph against the Mariners several times and averaged 93 mph on his fastballs.

According to Girardi, the 26-year-old is already showing his impressive form he displayed last season before sustaining the elbow injury, which limited Tanaka to just 20 starts last season.

"That's as efficient as he's ever been when you talk about the amount of pitches he's thrown in two games," Girardi told Newsday. "He's where he was last year."

Tanaka, who signed a lucrative seven-year deal worth $155 million last season with the Yankees, is now 4-1 in six starts this season with 39 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA. The Itami, Japan native will look to sustain his momentum in his next start on Monday against the Miami Marlins.

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