Derek Jeter is set to make his second return to the lineup Sunday, and the Yankees can only hope it goes better than his first.
As much as the lineup needed him when he made his one-game comeback July 11, it’s even more desperate now after a 1-0 loss to the Rays Saturday in The Bronx.
Jeter completed his simulated game in Staten Island Saturday in one piece, and manager Joe Girardi expects him to start at shortstop Sunday.
“If he comes in and feels good [today], he will play for us,” Girardi said. “It’s obviously someone we’ve been waiting for, for a long time. We had him for one day and we won that game. Hopefully, that ratio continues.”
Jeter will have his work cut out for him.
The Yankees were blanked for the ninth time this season and second time in just six days, as they were overwhelmed by Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer.
The right-hander retired the first 10 Yankees he faced before Ichiro Suzuki reached on an error by third baseman Evan Longoria. The Yankees didn’t get their first hit until Lyle Overbay’s single with one out in the fifth.
Archer (6-3) allowed just two hits and no walks in his complete-game victory.
So when Ivan Nova gave up a bloop single to Kelly Johnson in the sixth inning that drove in Ben Zobrist from second, it felt like much more than a one-run hole.
“I’ve just got to go out there and try to do my job and try not to worry too much about the offense,” said Nova (4-4), who has seen the Yankees shutout in each of his last two starts.
They didn’t get a runner into scoring position until Brett Gardner’s ground-rule double with two out in the sixth, and he was stranded there when Ichiro struck out.
“This wasn’t the first day guys weren’t in the lineup,” Ichiro said. “We know what the lineup is going to be. We just have to do better.”
Jeter’s return figures to help, although he already has shown it can be dangerous to rely too much on a 39-year-old shortstop.
Jeter didn’t make it through his first game back from his twice-fractured left ankle before suffering a right quadriceps strain following his late-night call-up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier this month.
Girardi seemed confident Jeter is healthy this time after he was tested in yesterday’s simulated game on the day he was eligible to come off the disabled list.
“He ran first to third; singles; second to home,” Girardi said of Jeter, who also had eight at-bats. “He took ground balls. You can be in tremendous shape, but playing shape is a little bit different. We had him do all that. As of right now, he came out of it very well.”
Perhaps having Jeter near the top of the order will help his teammates, including Alfonso Soriano, who went 0-for-3.
“I know the offense is not good right now, but as soon as we put one inning together, I think everything will be fine,” Soriano said after his second game back with the Yankees, who look a lot less powerful than when he left. “I hope we start hitting [today].”
Girardi said he knows that though the Yankees have remained in playoff contention so far, that won’t continue if the offense doesn’t pick up.
“If we’re going to get back in this race, we’re going to have to win games,” Girardi said. “We have to start making some headway.”
dan.martin@nypost.com