Brett Gardner was out of the Yankees lineup, recovering from a bruised right wrist suffered when he was hit by a pitch Sunday in Los Angeles.
“They’re talking it could be a couple of days, could be day-to-day,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s progressing. He’s available to me as defense and a pinch runner. He’s sore where he got hit. We’ll just evaluate him every day.”
Gardner said the wrist felt better than it did Monday when he had X-rays that revealed no broken bones. He said it was swollen and stiff but he hoped to be able to swing a bat Wednesday.
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A few players on the disabled list sound closer to returning. Marcus Thames (hamstring) will be the designated hitter for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. He will probably then have to play a few games in the field before returning to the Yankees.
“It’s taking a little longer than we would want but we’ve got to get it right so we don’t have a setback and have to do this all over again,” Brian Cashman said.
Pitchers Alfredo Aceves (back) and Sergio Mitre (oblique) threw off a mound in Tampa on Monday and will do the same thing tomorrow.
Tonight’s lineup:
1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Nick Swisher RF
3. Mark Teixeira 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Jorge Posada DH
7. Curtis Granderson CF
8. Chad Huffman LF
9. Francisco Cervelli C
Phil Hughes is the starting pitcher.