A day after blown save, Yankees' David Bednar escapes messy 9th by ‘digging deep, getting a little gritty’
NEW YORK — On the verge of blowing another ninth-inning lead, David Bednar threw George Springer a surprise splitter. And another. And another.
Having allowed an RBI double that cut the Yankees’ lead to one run, Bednar faced two on with one out when he fell behind the four-time All-Star 3-0 in the count with three straight pitches that weren’t close. Bednar rebounded by getting Springer to swing over three straight splitters that dipped below the strike zone. Five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
then worked the count full before bouncing a hanging splitter to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. , who threw to first for the out that preserved New York’s 7-6 win over the AL champion Toronto Blue Jays. “It’s digging deep, getting a little gritty and finding a way,” Bednar said.
“Just find a way. There’s a way out of every situation. ” Not on Sunday, when Bednar gave up Tyrone Taylor’s tying, three-run homer on a hanging curveball with two outs in the ninth inning.
The Yankees went on to lose 7-6 in 10 innings to the crosstown Mets, ending a deflating 2-7 trip. “You got to get punched in the face,” Bednar said, adding the test is “how you respond from that. ” Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t feel a need to give a pep talk to the two-time All-Star closer.