NY seeks answers to Pineda’s perplexing slump

PHOENIX — The emphatic gyrations that used to punctuate Michael Pineda’s outings have been replaced by body language of a different kind, like the exasperated glance he shot at the Chase Field roof after watching Jake Lamb’s homer travel toward the right-field swimming pool on Tuesday.

Pineda has never been concerned with masking his feelings, whether the performance is positive or negative, and this season has already seen too much of the latter. The right-hander was hammered for five runs and nine hits in a 5-3 loss to the D-backs on Tuesday, raising his ERA to 6.60.

“Would you be [angry]? Of course you would. He’s [angry],” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He knows he’s better than this. He’s always been animated. When things are going well, he shakes a lot. He’s animated; that’s who he is.”

Rather than monitoring his quivers, the Yankees are more concerned with how to fix a sour run that has seen Pineda go 0-5 with a 6.05 ERA in seven starts since his season debut on April 6. Though Girardi said they haven’t entertained removing Pineda from the rotation, Pineda acknowledged that the thought crosses his mind.

“Of course I’m thinking. This is my job,” Pineda said. “I want to be better all the time. About the rotation or whatever, I don’t …

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