New York Yankees Editorial: Girardi: No Regrets About Branden Pinder-Bautista Matchup

Last night’s Yankee’s matchup against the 2nd place Toronto Blue Jays ended in a 10th inning heartbreak when rookie pitcher Branden Pinder gave up a go-ahead home run to Jose Bautista.

While Yankees’ fans were left questioning why manager Joe Girardi would have Pinder pitching in that situation, Girardi saw nothing wrong with bringing the rookie pitcher in.

“He has been throwing the ball extremely well [and has] a good slider against right-handed hitters,” Girardi said of Pinder. “You look at the success that part of the order has had against left-handers, [so] I went with the right-hander.’’

Pinder was first able to get Josh Donaldson out, but on a 1-2 fastball gave Bautista his 25th homer of the year.

“It just leaked over the middle part of the plate,” said catcher Brian McCann.

Pinder was then able to strike out Edwin Encarnacion and got Justin Smoak out. 

“He has been throwing the ball extremely well [and has] a good slider against right-handed hitters”

“I would have liked to get it more inside, but I didn’t,” said Pinder, who said he attacked the inning the same as he would against any other batters despite the powerful bats in the Toronto lineup. “It’s the same thing: Just get ahead and throw strikes. I’m not going to change my approach. They’re all just hitters in the box.”

While fans may be upset with Pinder, there was another Yankee who had his back.

“He doesn’t have a lot of experience up here, but he’s here for a reason,” Brett Gardner said. “Bautista hit one pretty good off him to left-center. He’s done a good job for us this year. He has a really, really good arm. Hopefully, he’ll be able to turn the page.”

Do you agree with Girardi’s decision to bring Pinder in? Let us know in the comments.