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NEW YORK, N.Y. - In a season full of bumps for the New York Yankees, there has been one sure thing. Namely, Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka tamed the highest-scoring team in the majors and the Yankees stopped a four-game skid, beating Oakland 2-1 Thursday and ending the Athletics five-game winning streak. Facing the As for the first time, Tanaka (9-1) got an early jolt when John Jaso homered as the second batter in the game. But that was the only run the Japanese rookie allowed in six innings, and he exited with an AL-leading 2.02 ERA. "I think theres an expectation when he goes out there that hes going to give you distance, that hes going to shut them down," manager Joe Girardi said. And given the Yankees recent rut, he added: "I think you could say its his biggest performance for us." David Robertson worked the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances, helped by a lucky bounce. Stephen Vogt singled with one out and pinch-runner Craig Gentry stole second. Alberto Callaspo followed with a hard grounder that deflected off Robertsons leg, and first baseman Mark Teixeira corralled the carom and flipped to the pitcher covering the bag for an out. Pinch-hitter Derek Norris looked at strike three for the final out. "I was probably the happiest guy in the stadium that the ball hit me," Robertson said. Shortly after he was inserted for speed and defence, Yankees right fielder Ichiro Suzuki blunted Oaklands bid to tie it in the eighth with a sliding catch on Brandon Moss liner into the gap with runners on first and second. After a wild pitch, Adam Warren struck out Yoenis Cespedes to end the inning. The Yankees wrapped up a 2-5 homestand that left them one game over .500. Its been a struggle all year for a team beset by injuries and inconsistency among the hitters, rotation and bullpen. Tanaka restored some order, at least for a day, as the Yankees broke a six-game losing streak to Oakland. The As own the top record in the AL, and best road mark. "As far as my personal performance goes, I dont think it was my best," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "Given the fact our team was in a little bit of a funk and that faced one of the best teams in the league, I was glad I was able to contribute." Tanaka gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one. He retired 10 straight batters after Jasos homer and left several As taking tentative swings. As Tanaka has demonstrated during his first 12 starts in the majors — at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs, all of them — he toughens up when theres trouble. He twice escaped two-out, two-on jams, and threw 104 pitches overall to a team known for grinding out at-bats. Before the game, As manager Bob Melvin said there was some "intrigue" to seeing Tanaka up close, kidding he wouldve preferred Oakland miss the aces turn. "We made him work some, maybe a little bit more than hes had to, where his pitch count got up and they had to get him out," he said. "But you can see why his numbers are the way they are. Hes got a lot of pitches." Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer in the third against Drew Pomeranz (5-3) for a 2-1 lead. Jacoby Ellsbury almost had a two-run homer for the Yankees in the first. He hit a drive to the top of the right-field wall, hustled around the bases and slid into second. The umpires, however, ruled it a home run and Ellsbury got up and trotted to the plate and into the dugout. Melvin challenged the call and it was overturned to a double. Carlos Beltran then struck out to finish the inning. On the disabled list since May 15 because of a bone spur in his right elbow, the star outfielder was activated and went 0 for 3 as the designated hitter. "I have to find a way to adjust to my role right now," he said. Alfonso Soriano broke an 0-for-16 slump with an RBI single in the second, set up when Brian McCann singled and continued to second as the ball skipped past Moss in left field for an error. NOTES: The As have homered in 13 straight games, connecting 23 times in that span. ... Tanaka had gone five starts without allowing a homer. ... Cespedes was Oaklands DH. Melvin gave the slugging OF a lighter day after hitting 2 HRs Wednesday night. Melvin also said Cespedes was working through some shoulder issue. ... RF Vogt made a nice catch in his first major league start in the outfield. Hes normally a catcher. ... Seven veterans of the D-Day invasion were honoured at home plate before the game. ... There was a pregame moment of silence for former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, who died Wednesday at 83. A video tribute before the third inning drew cheers. Vapormax Plus Mens Ireland .500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix. Cheap Vapormax Ireland . Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/vapormax-flyknit-wholesale-china.html . Salah, who scored against Chelsea in two Champions League group matches this season, is Jose Mourinhos third significant recruit in the January transfer window after Nemanja Matic and Bertrand Traore. Vapormax Plus White Ireland . The ninth-seeded Safarova doused Swede Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-3 on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. The Czech player was a finalist here two years ago and captured back-to-back doubles titles in 2012 and last year. Vapormax Plus Sale Ireland . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago.The news that Bobby Ryan is undergoing season-ending surgery did not come as a complete surprise. Earlier this week, head coach Paul MacLean confirmed that Ryan had been dealing with a nagging injury since November – our first tangible clue that the winger has not been 100 per cent healthy all season. But for the past few weeks, the whispers had been growing louder and louder that Ryan was playing hurt. When the club returned to practice after the Olympic break, the winger took a couple of maintenance days that raised a few eyebrows. Now that the club has confirmed he was playing for the past four months with a sports hernia injury, it forces us to reassess our opinion of Ryans first season in Ottawa. In a strange twist, every player involved in the massive Ducks-Senators trade from last summer suffered a significant injury this season. Jakob Silfverberg had a broken hand, Stefan Noesen tore the ACL in his knee and now Ryan is done with the sports hernia injury. (The Ducks may want to order some bubble wrap to protect their first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft that they will receive from Ottawa). When he was famously left off the Team USA roster for the Olympics, many suggested that Ryan was crushed by the bad news and went into a prolonged slump. He scored just two goals in 12 games in the month of January and looked like a shadow of himself at times. Certainly, the Team USA snub hurt him on a personal level, but its rather obvious that the physical pain of a sports hernia injury was the bigger factor for his declining numbers. Ryans limited ice time was also a source of controversy in this market, as fans and media openly questioned MacLeans deployment of his No. 1 sniper. He was taken off a unit with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur and was given third-line minutes instead. When the Sens were swept in Alberta earlier this month, Ryan played fewer than 15 minutes on each night – causing some to wonder aloud if there was a rift between star player and coach. In reality, the reduced ice time was likely the result of his nagging injury. In a statement to the media on Thursday, general manager Bryan Murray indicated that Ryan tried to play through the injury and doesnt appear to be concerned about how he was used by MacLean. "I know there were some times in games that he felt like he couldnt contribute very muchh but he stayed on the ice as required by the coaching staff and tried very hard to be a big factor for our team," Murray said.dddddddddddd "I think he was and obviously we like that kind of person and want to treat him right in return." If you look at Ryans on-ice production from this season (time on ice to produce a point), you can see a significant drop-off once the calendar flipped to December: Month Time on ice/point October 20:32 November 16:17 December 24:42 January 33:10 February 46:40 March 41:47 Ryans struggles were a red flag for many Ottawa fans, who were concerned about his lack of productivity and compete level down the stretch. With a contract set to expire at the end of next season, there were more than a few fans who were suggesting it was time to move on from the 26-year-old winger. But now that we have a clear picture of Ryans health, its a little more accurate to say that his first season was not a complete disaster. The fact that he led this team in goal-scoring with 23 despite the injury is fairly impressive. Considering the recovery time from this injury is about six weeks, GM Bryan Murray says there is every reason to believe that Ryan will come into training camp next season ready to return to his 30-goal form. "Well, he certainly started very, very well. He shoots the puck awfully well, he scored some goals, his line obviously carried the team early on. He was a big part of that," Murray said. "I think after the hernia started to get aggravated a little bit, he seemed to shoot the puck a bit less. Overall, very happy and satisfied with his overall play and we know hell be a real contributor going forward." That last comment from the general manager seems like the one that carries the most weight moving into this summer. Nobody is certain if the Sens will lock up Ryan with a long-term extension in the coming months, but one thing is clear: this organization hasnt soured on him after a disappointing season in which he played hurt. ' ' '