TORONTO - The New York Yankees harvested the first win out of their US$175-million investment in Masahiro Tanaka on Friday. Tony Allen Jersey . The Blue Jays, however, will have to wait to see what Dustin McGowan has to offer. Tanaka scattered six hits over seven innings to win his major-league debut 7-3 and help the Yankees spoil Torontos home opener. A successful Yankees challenge on replay helped set the stage for the winning runs to score. The Japanese right-hander struck out eight after an early wobble and did not walk a batter while giving up three runs, only two of which were earned. Tanaka (1-0) threw 97 pitches including 65 strikes in a promising debut. "Hes definitely the real deal," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, while lamenting his team was unable to capitalize early when the door was open somewhat. "I thought he settled down great," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "The first couple of innings were a little rough ... (but) to give us seven innings and be under 100 pitches, he did a really really good job." Jays leadoff hitter Melky Cabrera welcomed Tanaka to the majors with a home run to right field on his third delivery. Not helped by his defence, he gave up two more runs in the second. Still the 25-year-old managed four strikeouts in the first two innings and soon settled down, efficiently mowing down Blue Jays while quieting the sellout Rogers Centre crowd of 48,197. After the Jays got their runs in the second, he retired 11 of 12 and faced the minimum batters in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh before calling it a night with a 5-3 lead. "He was able to fix his mistakes early on and thats the sign of a mature pitcher to me," Girardi said. New York (2-2) had 16 hits to six for Toronto (2-3), which used six pitchers on the night. The Yankees could have scored more but left 11 men on base. McGowan (0-1) gave up four earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk in just 2 2/3 innings, leaving another question-mark over the Jays starting pitching. "He feels fine," Gibbons said. "Hes better than that and hell get better than that." The Jays will need an improvement, with the night sucking five relievers out of the Toronto bullpen. Plus the team has now surrendered 11-plus hits in three of its five games to date. In his defence, the 32-year-old McGowan was making his first big-league start since Sept. 26, 2011, and just his fifth since the 2008 season. It didnt help that McGowan was somehow tipping his pitches, by setting in different spots. "Its something hes never done before ... It makes it much easier to hit," said Gibbons. "Ive got to fix that tipping thing for sure," said McGowan. "Because even I noticed after the first inning they were putting good swings on every pitch I threw. I knew something was wrong from the get-go." McGowan endured a wild opening inning that saw him give up four singles and a double but just two runs. He left trailing 4-3 after No. 8 hitter Yangervis Solarte doubled home two runners in an inning extended by a successful Yankees challenge to Ichiro Suzuki being thrown out at first by Ryan Goins. Both managers said the challenge system worked as it was designed to go. "Thats why we have it," said Gibbons. "You want to get calls right. Without instant replay, were out of that inning." Added Girardi: "I thought it worked well." The home opener, visit of the Yankees and MLB debut of Tanaka resulted in more than 300 media credentials — including production staff — being issued for the night. Large groups of media milled around on the field in front of both clubhouses before the game, like armies preparing for battle. Girardi seemed unfazed, wandering over to check out the medals of several Canadian Olympians who were being honoured on the night. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey received his Gold Glove award prior to the 10 Olympians who were honoured pre-game before an enthusiastic crowd waving freebie rally flags. Former Jays and Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw out the first pitch after a gigantic Canadian flag was packed up in the outfield. The Jays early pitching stumbles, however, robbed the night of much of its excitement. The Yankees have invested US$175 million to get seven years worth of Tanaka, including $20 million just to earn the right to negotiate for his services. Tanaka went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japans Pacific League. He joins Japans Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda on the Yankees roster. The win was Tanakas 100th as a pro. "Obviously Im happy. But I think No. 1 is that Im relieved," he said through an interpreter. "I was missing some spots earlier in the game, but as the game progressed I think I was getting better out there," he added. The six-foot-two 205-pounder arrives with an array of pitching weapons, with his splitter said to be the jewel of the lot. While the spotlight shone on Tanaka, the Yankees gave Derek Jeter the night off. McGowan, whose major league pitching line was blank for 2009, 10 and 12, has been sidelined by a medical dictionary of ailments that includes Tommy John surgery, knee and shoulder operations and a bout of plantar fasciitis. As a reliever last year, he made 25 appearances — his most since the 2007 season. "All hes been through, hes defying all the odds really," Gibbons said before the game of the six-foot-three 240-pounder, who is due to make US$1.5 million this season. It proved to be a rough return to the rotation, with pitching coach Pete Walker quickly coming out of the dugout as McGowan wobbled out of the starting blocks. He found himself down 2-0 with the bases loaded after just one out but escaped without further damage. That promoted mayoral candidate Olivia Chow, who was at the game, to tweet: "If Im elected mayor, it will be illegal for the visiting team to get five hits in the first inning of the home opener." Mayor Rob Ford, whose own legal issues have been somewhat seamier, was also in attendance. Cabreras leadoff homer marked just the second time in Jays history that a player has led off the home opener with a home run. Shannon Stewart did it in 2000 against Kansas City. Tanaka was victimized in the second in the wake of two one-out singles. After first baseman Mark Teixeiras throwing error, shortstop Jonathan Diaz singled home two runs for an unlikely 3-2 lead. Teixeira left the game later in the inning with a strained right hamstring after going after a foul ball. The Yankees added a run in the fourth off reliever Aaron Loup, another in the eighth off Steve Dalabar and one more in the ninth off Jeremy Jeffress to increase the lead to 7-3. After the game, the Jays announced they had designated Jeffress for assignment. Mike Conley Grizzlies Jersey . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Brandan Wright Jersey . American Lindsey Jacobellis was third, while Japans Yuka Fujimori finished just off the podium. Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., earned bronze at the 2006 Olympic Games and is set to return to the Games this February in Sochi, Russia. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.com/Brandan-Wright-Grizzlies-Jersey/ . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday.TORONTO – It was late March and the Maple Leafs captain was just about out of gas. Torontos season had spiraled out of control with eight straight regulation losses and Dion Phaneuf was feeling the effects of some of the most difficult minutes any NHL defender had played that season. "Id be lying to say that it did not wear you down," said Phaneuf, in jovial spirits at the start of training camp this week. "When youre playing those big minutes, by the time Game 70 comes around, you might be feeling it a little more." One of the more interesting subplots to the coming season will be the 29-year-old and his usage with the club under returning head coach, Randy Carlyle. No defender in the league played against more difficult competition than Phaneuf last season – according to the advanced statistics website, Behind the Net – and only one defender, teammate and now former defence partner Carl Gunnarsson, started fewer shifts in the offensive zone (38.8 per cent). Phaneuf struggled under the weight of that burden, posting poor possession numbers and the worst offensive output (on a per-game basis) of his Leafs career, just 31 points in 80 games. He was noticeably worn down as winter turned to spring; that subtlety never more apparent than on Mar. 25 when he made three glaring errors in a 5-3 defeat against St. Louis, too heated afterward to speak with the media. "The bottom line is that I had to be better," Phaneuf said. "I take full responsibility for that. Whether its worn down or too many minutes early, thats excuses; the bottom line is, I didnt play well enough in the last 20 games. I was disappointed in that." Lacking other trusted options, Carlyle leaned hardest on Phaneuf in the most challenging of situations – many of which started in the defensive zone opposite the games top stars. That treatment was markedly more difficult than how Phaneuf was employed under the previous head coach, Ron Wilson. Under Wilson, Phaneufs quality of competition was not nearly as high, his defensive zone starts hovering close to 50 per cent. So what can or will the Leafs do to ensure that their top defenceman isnt worn down by the stretch drive this season? Adding more experience was designed to help. Offseason additions Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak could stand to absorb some of the more challenging competition annd defensive zone starts from Phaneuf. Chandler Parsons Grizzlies Jersey. That would free him up to play more in the offensive zone while also not grinding him to the ground with shift after shift against the oppositions best. "I think it will help me personally but I think it will help our whole defensive core," Phaneuf said of the two offseason additions, both coming from the West. "Theyre guys that can eat minutes. And I think that benefits everyone." Growth from Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly would also aid in that process. Phaneuf, who will move back to his natural left side, projects to play with one of Robidas or Polak at the start of the regular season, intent on using the exhibition schedule to develop some familiarity with whomever it might be. That may be difficult in the case of Robidas – the better fit based on past experience and skill-set – who may not be ready to play until the final days of the preseason (knee), if at all before the regular season kicks off on Oct. 8. Phaneuf was pushing an average of 25 minutes per night through January last season; that number cut some in the second half. There were nights, nonetheless, when the ice-time mushroomed, like Mar. 1 when he logged nearly 31 minutes against Montreal. Optimal ice-time for Phaneuf, he believes, lies in the range of 23-24 minutes nightly, but that simplifies how different the quality of ice (more challenging) he logs is from that of his teammates. His minutes were actually slightly more difficult (by the numbers, at least) from those played by Shea Weber, Zdeno Chara, and Ryan Suter. Phaneuf is not Weber, Chara or Suter and putting him in situations even more difficult than a trio of that caliber is not putting him in the best possible position to succeed. Carlyle – who was unavailable for comment Friday – can lighten the load on his captain (all the more important as Phaneuf digs deeper into a seven-year deal). Will he do so? "My job is to go out and play when Im tapped to go and play," Phaneuf said. "Whatever my role is, Im going to play it to the best of my ability. Theres no easy minutes if thats your question. I think when youre playing shutdown minutes and youre shutting down the other teams top lines, theyre challenging minutes and its about managing them and getting the most out of yourself to help your team win games." 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