Masahiro Tanaka makes painless first rehab start

New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka is working his way back from an elbow injury (and avoiding surgery) and made his first rehab start in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

“I felt pretty good out there,” Tanaka said, according to LoHud Yankees Blog. “I was able to use all my pitches. I felt pretty good. … Not necessarily different than how I usually go into a game. I was looking to obviously pitch all my pitches with force, and I was able to do that tonight.”

When asked if he felt any pain in his elbow, Tanaka reported "No. Not at all."

This has to be a huge sigh of relief for the Yankees, who are hoping their ace can avoid Tommy John Surgery.

(h/t LoHud Yankees Blog)