MLB

Yankees’ Gardner needs work on swing

A video session with hitting coach Kevin Long yesterday unearthed a major flaw in Brett Gardner’s mechanics that resulted in the left-handed hitting outfielder coming up too much.

“He is not trying to lift the ball at all, it has more to do with what he is not doing with the lower half,” Long said of the ice-cold Gardner, who wasn’t in the lineup against lefty Matt Harrison in last night’s 5-3 loss to the Rangers at the Stadium. “He isn’t using the lower half. And he is looking at pitches and expanding the zone more than usual. He has been feeling for his swing.”

Long is a big believer in hitters using the lower half of their bodies to drive through pitches.

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Looking at tape yesterday with Gardner he discovered Gardner could be doing more with his legs.

“He has been swinging with his upper body,” Long said. “He isn’t using the lower half. And he is looking at pitches and expanding the zone more than usual. He has been feeling for his swing.”

With very few results. Gardner is hitting .150 (6-for-40) and has twice as many strikeouts (13) than hits.

Manager Joe Girardi didn’t say what he will do today in left field against lefty Derek Holland, but he isn’t going to sit Curtis Granderson, who singled and homered off the left-handed Harrison last night.

Girardi gave Andruw Jones his third start in left and moved Derek Jeter from second to leadoff in the order.

Jones went 0-for-3 and hit into one of the club-record six double plays.

“This might be a blessing in disguise,” Long said of the Rangers throwing back-to-back lefties. “This will allow him to get some work in and get his confidence going.”

Long said he believes it’s important for Gardner to give the lineup a lift from the first spot or ninth.

“Brett was great last year and has a lot of value to the club,” Long said.

According to Girardi, getting in bad counts has been hurting Gardner, who had one hit in 19 at-bats.

“He’s struggling,” Girardi said. “He’s been behind in a lot of counts, 0-1, 1-2. Then the pitcher has a chance to nibble and make you hit his pitch. He’s just scuffling a little bit. He’s going through what a lot of players go through at the start of the year. It’s no fun when you’re a player going through it, but he’ll come out of it. We believe he’s going to be a force.”

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Freddy Garcia is scheduled to make his first start of the season today against the Rangers. But, surprise, rain is in the forecast. The veteran right-hander has had two starts washed out.

“It’s a game, you got to do your job,” said Garcia, who worked an inning of relief Sunday in Boston and hasn’t started a game since March 29 against the Tigers in an exhibition game.

Garcia, a 12-game winner last year with the White Sox, has thrown two bullpen sessions to stay sharp but realizes only so much can be accomplished in the pen.

“You can throw in the bullpen but there are no hitters,” Garcia said.

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With today’s game following last night’s action it’s possible Girardi will give Gustavo Molina his first start of the season and rest Russell Martin, who is the only major league player to play every inning this season.

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Girardi wouldn’t commit to a starter Tuesday night in Toronto, but it likely will be A.J. Burnett. If the Yankees stay in order, Bartolo Colon would take over for Phil Hughes, who was placed on the DL yesterday, on Wednesday.

“Bartolo has thrown as well as anyone and he has a chance to step up for us,” he said. “It’s something that we’ll get through, and we’ll be OK. We feel that Bartolo will throw well.”

In three relief outings, Colon is 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA. His three scoreless innings Thursday night against the Orioles enabled the Yankees to come back from a 5-0 hole and win, 6-5, in 10 innings.

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Granderson’s eighth-inning homer was the Yankees 22nd homer in 12 games. That’s the second most homers in team history. The 2003 bunch hit 23 in the first dozen games.

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The Yankees elevated right-hander Lance Pendleton from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A) to take Hughes’ roster spot, and he provided three scoreless relief innings in his major league debut.

Pendleton made two relief appearances for SWB this season. He was 12-5 with a 3.61 ERA with Trenton (Double-A) and SWB a year ago.

He was a Rule 5 draft pick by Houston but returned to the Yankees in March.

“I couldn’t have written it up better than other than a win,” said Pendleton, who arrived at the Stadium at 6:15. “But if we won I probably wouldn’t have pitched.”

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Kevin Millwood starts for Trenton tomorrow.