MILWAUKEE — They live in different financial worlds, but without each of them the Yankees would already be circling the drain.
Say hello to Yangervis Solarte and Masahiro Tanaka. The only thing they have in common is that they are rookies. Everything else is different: Solarte is from Venezuela; Tanaka from Japan. Solarte, an infielder, is the improbable Yankees leader in RBIs; Tanaka leads in wins.
Solarte makes the MLB minimum of $500,000; Tanaka is earning $22 million.
Together that $22.5 million carried the Yankees to a 5-3 win Friday night over the Brewers in front of 40,123 at Miller Park.
Solarte’s three-run homer off Yovani Gallardo in the four-run fourth staked Tanaka to an early lead. Despite not featuring his best stuff, Tanaka had enough to improve to 5-0.
“I am very excited to help the team win,’’ said Solarte, who leads the Yankees with 18 RBIs and as crazy as it sounds has played himself into the early discussions about AL Rookie of the Year.
Of course, Tanaka is in those talks, as well as the chatter about AL Cy Young. In 6 ¹/₃ innings, which tied Tanaka’s shortest outing in seven games, he gave up two runs, seven hits, a walk and fanned seven.
“It was most important we got the win,’’ Tanaka said through a translator of the Yankees’ third straight victory. “As for my pitching, I was missing spots and it wasn’t my best. I will make adjustments for my next outing.’’
Since Tanaka and Gallardo were toying with the hitters in the first three frames, Solarte’s blast made it seem bigger than a 3-0 lead. And when Brian Roberts’ two-out double scored Brett Gardner from first for a 4-0 bulge, it appeared Tanaka might cruise. Instead, two runs in the sixth cut the lead in half and it might have been worse if Tanaka didn’t get Aramis Ramirez to hit into a 6-3 double play. When Jean Segura and Logan Schafer singled with one out in the seventh to put runners at the corners, Joe Girardi summoned Adam Warren.
He struck out Lyle Overbay, and Brian McCann threw out Schafer attempting to swipe second.
With Shawn Kelley not available due to a lower back problem, Girardi stuck with Warren for the eighth before turning to David Robertson. He gave up a solo homer to Mark Reynolds in the ninth, but fanned the other three batters for his sixth save in as many chances.
“[Solarte] and Jacoby [Ellsbury] are our two most consistent hitters in the first part of the season,’’ said Derek Jeter, who had a fan come out of the third base seats and ask him for a hug before security guards blitzed him to the ground from behind.
Talking about postseason awards in May is premature. Yet, six weeks is all that is available for evaluations, and Solarte and Tanaka have certainly been impressive, if totally different.
Solarte, 27, spent eight years in the minors before making the Yankees as a non-roster invite to spring training. Tanaka signed for seven years and $155 million and the Yankees had to give Rakuten, Tanaka’s club in Japan, another $20 million.
And without both, the Yankees would be a whole lot worse than 19-15.