The anemic Yankees lineup lost its hottest hitter at the start of batting practice Wednesday night when Brett Gardner was scratched due to a stiff neck.
Gardner, however, said he believes he will be healthy enough to be in the lineup Thursday when the Athletics start lefty Rich Hill against the helpless Yankees.
“I feel a lot better than I did earlier in the day,’’ said Gardner, who spent the day getting treatment and was seen by a chiropractor. “I was moving around late in the game. I expect to play.’’
Gardner said the problem surfaced last Thursday when he fell backward into the seats in Toronto chasing a foul ball.
“It was bothering me from Toronto when I fell over and hit my head,’’ Gardner said. “I got treatment over the weekend and today it felt a little worse. I talked to Joe [Girardi] to keep me in the lineup.’’
Gardner said he didn’t undergo tests and didn’t plan to.
After being beaten 5-2 Wednesday night, the Yankees have scored 18 runs in the past eight games (going 2-6), so they didn’t need to lose Gardner, who was 8-for-16 (.500) in his past four games and had reached base 21 times in his first 48 plate appearances.
The Yankees batted a horrific .074 (4-for-54) with runners in scoring position in their previous six games, five of which were losses. Gardner was a culprit there, batting .111 (1-for-9) in the clutch.
Replacing Gardner was switch-hitter Aaron Hicks, who started for the first time against a right-hander (Kendall Graveman). Acquired from the Twins for catcher John Ryan Murphy, Hicks has struggled in limited playing time and is batting .050 (1-for-20) after an 0-for-3 night. His one hit, a single, came from the left side, which is considered his weaker side.
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Hicks did nail Oakland’s Danny Valencia at home in the fourth inning with a throw measured at 105 mph by MLB Statcast — the fastest since the league began measuring throws at the beginning of last season.
Asked before Gardner was scratched where he would play Hicks on Thursday, Girardi wouldn’t reveal if Jacoby Ellsbury or Gardner would sit against Hill. Prior to Wednesday, the Yankees had faced three lefty starters with Gardner sitting twice and Ellsbury once.
Ellsbury never will shake the seven-year, $153 million contract he signed to leave Boston for The Bronx following the 2013 season. He performed well in 2014, was hurt for a big chunk of 2015 and is off to a miserable start this season.
Those who believe the 32-year-old left-handed hitter can return to 2011 season when he batted .321 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs, are delusional. Since then he has hit a combined 36 homers. What the Yankees need is Ellsbury to stay on the field and be an on-base presence at the top of the lineup.
“I don’t think he is going to be a 30-home run guy, he did that one time in his career,’’ Girardi said of Ellsbury, who is hitting .220 (11-for-50) with a paltry .264 on-base percentage and had several botched plays in center field. “I think he can be an impact player, he has four stolen bases [in six attempts].’’
According to Girardi, the Yankees are ahead of last year when it comes to figuring out what pitchers can be used between the starters and back-end studs Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller.
“I think we figured it out quicker than we did last year,’’ said Girardi, who has used Chasen Shreve, Kirby Yates and Johnny Barbato to get to Betances and Miller. “Last year, we weren’t sure who our seventh-inning guy was going to be and it took us a little time to figure it out. Justin Wilson really stepped up and Shreve really stepped up.’’
Wilson was dealt to the Tigers in December for pitchers Luis Cessa and Chad Green. Bryan Mitchell was going to get work in the sixth and seventh frames until he was lost for at least four months in the final week of spring training due to a foot fracture.
While Girardi singled out Barbato for stepping into the void, the Yankees are due to get Aroldis Chapman back from suspension May 9. When that happens, Betances will go to the seventh inning with Miller working the eighth. That leaves Chapman to close.
“Johnny has been the guy who stepped up a little bit,’’ Girardi said of the rookie right-hander who was acquired from the Padres for Shawn Kelley in December 2014.
“We had a good idea what Yates could do but Johnny, first year in the big leagues, you are never sure how a guy is going to respond. We knew his stuff was really good but he has responded well.’’
Barbato, who absorbed the 11-inning loss to the A’s on Tuesday night, had a 1.13 ERA in six games.