TAMPA, Fla. -- Masahiro Tanaka could make his first regular-season start in the New York Yankees third or fourth game. The Yankees complete a three-series at Houston on April 3, then have a day off before a three-game set at Toronto. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Friday "I think thats pretty safe to say" the Japanese right-hander will start game three or four. Tanaka is to make his first spring training appearance Saturday against Philadelphia at Steinbrenner Tanaka and fellow Japanese right-hander and Hiroki Kuroda are to follow starter CC Sabathia. Each is expected to throw two innings or about 35 pitches. "I understand theres going to be a lot of attention on the results, the numbers of how I do out there," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "But for me, Im not looking at it at all. I just wanted to go out there and pitch my style. I just want to see how the batters react." Tanaka signed a $155 million, seven-year contract in January. He was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year while leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to their first Japan Series title. NOTES: Closer David Robertson threw 22 pitches in his second batting practice session. ... Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson arrived at camp, where he is a spring training instructor. Babe Ruth Jersey .C. United have acquired midfielder Alex Caskey from the Seattle Sounders for a third-round pick in the 2016 MLS draft. Touki Toussaint Jersey .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. https://www.cheapbraves.com/1443o-bobby-...sey-braves.html. scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. David Justice Braves Jersey . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. Max Fried Jersey . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Jason Kidd never appears worries about anything, certainly not about someone like Paul Pierce. Even if Pierces matchup was completely one-sided in Torontos favour in Game 2. Pierce nearly had as many fouls as points. He couldnt get his shot to fall, couldnt keep his man off the boards, and the Raptors targeted the Pierce matchup as one they could exploit. Yet Kidd is not concerned as his Brooklyn Nets prepare to host the Raptors in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night. "Pauls doing every right. The game of basketball is about making shots and sometimes you make them and sometimes you dont. So Paul, I think, has had two good games," Kidd said Wednesday on a conference call. Pierce was sharp down the stretch in helping the Nets win the opener, but couldnt get it going Tuesday night in Torontos 100-95 victory. He shot 2 for 11 and finished with seven points and six rebounds. Worse for the Nets, the Raptors took of advantage of their size against a Nets team that plays Pierce as an undersized power forward. Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 52-30, with power forwards Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson combining for 28 points and 18 rebounds while making 13 of 19 shots. Johnson said after the game that with Pierce playing the 4 spot, Raptors coach Dwane Casey told him to go to the glass every time on offence and defence. "We understand were a more athletic team than them. For us to get to the glass every single opportunity we have that presents itself is what we need to do," Patterson said Wednesday. "There shouldnt be a game in this series where we get outrebounded by them." The Nets went to the small-ball lineup after centre Brook Lopez was lost for the season with a broken foot in December, and it helped them turn around their season. With Pierces outside shooting ability, it creates a matchup problem for bigger defenders, who usually prefer to play closer to the basket. Buut it creates a different set of problems for the Nets against aggressive bigs like Torontos, who quickly put Pierce into foul trouble that prevented him from ever getting into a rhythm Tuesday.dddddddddddd Yet if he made either of the two 3-point attempts that bounced out in the final 25 seconds, the Nets might have come home with a 2-0 lead, and Kidd preferred to focus on that. "No matter what he shot in the last game, he had great looks and they just went in and out, and so theres nothing in the sense of changing what Pauls going to do," Kidd said of Pierce, the 2008 NBA Finals MVP. "Hes a very smart player, he understands time and situation and ... theres no concern." Pierce said after the game the Nets were soft when it came to their rebounding, and teammates agreed they had to do a better job as a team of helping out on the boards. But that was far from Brooklyns only problem in Game 2. All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan bounced back from his shaky opener with 30 points and carried Toronto down the stretch, while centre Jonas Valanciunas came up with 15 points and 14 rebounds. It gave the impression that the younger Raptors, who won the Atlantic Division, might have too many answers for the Nets. "Toronto is going to win this series," TNT analyst Charles Barkley said afterward. "I have not seen anything these first two games that makes me see anything different." The Raptors will still need to win at least one in Brooklyn. They are a good road team, with a 22-19 record that matched Miami and Washington for best in the East. "Its a new beginning, a new frontier, a new experience," coach Dwane Casey said of going on the road now. "The only way youre going to get it is to go through it. I have faith in our guys and confidence in our guys that were going to go in there as a group bonded together and fight together." AP freelance writer Ian Harrison in Toronto contributed to this report. ' ' '