So much of sports comes down to deciding whose hand you want the ball in with the game on the line.

Which two-minute quarterback? Which isolation star as the 24-second and game clocks are winding toward 00:00? Which pitcher in October?

Masahiro Tanaka has moved into Orlando Hernandez territory for the Yankees. Sure, just fine from April to September, but give them the ball in October and the quality rises with the pressure. Think of all the words you would want to be associated with this time of year? Is there one bigger than “trust?”

The Yankees trust Tanaka. Implicitly. Unflinchingly. Annually.

What the Yanks have learned about Tanaka and the postseason is that, at worst, when he leaves a game they will have a chance to win. Often he will leave the Yankees in much better position than that. Hernandez was like that, so was Andy Pettitte, especially in his 10-start second term in pinstripes. Thus, Tanaka is in great company, the kind that elevates you around here, where the final judgment is always about legends of the fall.

“He gave us just what we needed and really set a tone for us to send us to Minnesota in a good position,” Aaron Boone said after Tanaka’s five innings and one run contributed significantly to an 8-2 Game 2 triumph and a two-games-to-none lead in this AL Division Series.

For all the worry about the Yankees’ starting pitching, James Paxton was fine for 14 outs in Friday’s opener and Tanaka better than that for 15 outs on Saturday. Maybe this is about the Twins, who can’t win this time of year, especially against the Yankees. But Minnesota did outhomer the Yankees and nearly scored as many runs this season, and Tanaka held them to three singles.

Tanaka has made six career postseason starts. He has never pitched fewer than five innings, never allowed more than two runs. Among pitchers who have made at least six starts, his 1.54 postseason ERA is the second best since earned runs became an official stat in 1912, trailing just a guy named Sandy Koufax (0.95) and his .164 batting average against is the best.

“I don’t get too caught up on being good in the postseason and all that,” Tanaka said. “Come to think of it, I still think it’s a small sample. My thing is just go out there and be the best you can be, compete and, yeah, just be the best you can be.”

Tanaka was not at his best in the first inning. He faced runners on first and second, one out before inducing Eddie Rosario to hit into a 3-6-1 double play, flashing his strong defense by completing the Twin-killing at first. That initiated a period in which he retired seven straight with four strikeouts and no balls leaving the infield, protecting a 1-0 lead.

At that point, the Yankees turned the Twins’ starter Randy Dobnak, a rookie suddenly famous for having a 4.99 rating as an Uber driver, into a guy with an 18.00 postseason ERA. The Yankees layered one strong at-bat atop of another in the third inning, highlighted when Didi Gregorius launched a grand slam off Tyler Duffey as the Yankees opened an 8-0 lead.

The Yankees sent 12 men to the plate, leaving Tanaka inactive for an extended stretch. He issued his only walk with one out in the fourth followed by consecutive singles from Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver to produce a run. The Twins hit a record 307 homers this season and three more in losing Game 1. This was Minnesota’s instant chance to surge back into the game. Boone knew it. Chad Green was warming up.

But Tanaka struck out Luis Arraez and Miguel Sano to quash any uprising, then went 1-2-3 in the fifth and was done with an 83-pitch, seven-strikeout effort. Tanaka has now pitched 40 ²/₃ career innings versus the Twins without surrendering a homer while improving to 6-0 in six starts.

This plays into the overall mastery the Yankees have enjoyed against the Twins and Minnesota’s continued misery at this time of year. The Twins lost their 15th straight postseason game, the longest active skid within the four major pro sports leagues and the second longest ever behind the 16 straight the NHL’s Blackhawks lost from 1975-79.

If it becomes a sour 16, the Yankees will eliminate the Twins on Monday in Game 3. Game 2 was played on the 15th anniversary of the Twins’ last playoff win, the opener of the 2004 Division Series against the Yankees behind Johan Santana. The Yanks have beaten the Twins 12 in a row in the postseason since.

This was Tanaka’s first opportunity to feast on the Yanks’ October punching bag. Once again he did. Once again, the Yankees couldn’t have been happier to do this:

Put the ball in his hands at this time of year.

Where Tanaka ranks all-time among pitchers with at least six postseason starts:

Lowest ERA (since ER became official in 1912)

Sandy Koufax 0.95

Masahiro Tanaka 1.54

George Earnshaw 1.58

Scott McGregor 1.63

Carl Hubbell 1.79

Waite Hoyt 1.83

Lowest batting average allowed

Masahiro Tanaka .164

Tim Lincecum .172

George Earnshaw .174

Sandy Koufax .180

Eddie Plank .186

Art Nehf .187