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WATCH: Blue Jays outfielder Yohendrick Piñango hits first career home run
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 16, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: May 16, 2026, 15:14 EDT
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Yohendrick Piñango has finally done it.
During Saturday afternoon’s game against the Detroit Tigers, the Toronto Blue Jays’ outfielder went deep for the first time in his young career, tying the game up at one in the top of the seventh.
Piñango was first pitch swinging when the Tigers turned to Kyle Finnegan for the seventh. The outfield guessed splitter, and got just that, hitting a middle-middle pitch 348 feet, just over the right fence wall. It was a hard-hit ball, coming off the bat at 100.1 mph. Piñango has done plenty of that since joining the big league team.
The Venezuelan native was called up by the Blue Jays after Nathan Lukes suffered an injury. His first stint lasted a little under two weeks, where he slashed .423/.444/.462 with a double and 11 hits in 27 plate appearances, striking out just 11.1% of the time. Addison Barger was activated from the 10-day injured list, with the Blue Jays sending Piñango down. Barger played a game, then went back to the injured list, as Piñango returned to the Blue Jays’ lineup.
Coming into Saturday’s game, Piñango notched just three hits in 16 plate appearances since his return, including his second double of his career. But with his first home run on Saturday, the 24-year-old outfielder is slashing .372/.413/.488 in 46 plate appearances, with a terrific 10.9 K% and 157 wRC+.
Acquired by the Blue Jays in the Nate Pearson trade ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, Piñango was left off the team’s 40-man roster, exposing him to the Rule 5 draft. Thankfully, no team selected him, and less than two months into the season, Piñango has shown he deserves a roster spot when the Blue Jays are fully healthy.
But with Piñango having option years remaining, the Blue Jays will need to make a decision when Barger and Lukes return to the lineup.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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