A few days ago, there was talk of surgery for Hideki Matsui and his ailing left knee. Last night, the outlook seemed infinitely better, as the talk was of him taking batting practice soon.
“He came in today and he looked great. Keeping him off it really helped,” said manager Joe Girardi. “[Trainer] Gene Monahan came up to me and said he looks tremendous and we talked about him taking BP in a couple of days. So I think the actual rest where he wasn’t traveling to the ballpark and taking BP and trying to test it I think really helped calm it down.”
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Brett Gardner started in left and led off after being summoned from Triple-A Scranton on Sunday. Gardner led all Triple-A players in triples (10) and stolen bases (34) when summoned. He went 0-for-3 but stole second despite a pitchout in the fifth.
“A lot of times, when you call guys up you want to get them in right away instead of making them sit and wait a couple days and think about it,” said Girardi, who used Gardner to give Johnny Damon a night off.
Gardner, a native of Holly Hill, S.C., drove from Scranton with his wife.
“I was on Route 80 East and you could see the city. I said, ‘I think that’s the Empire State Building.’ I came over a hill, and sure enough there was the city,” Gardner said. “Then we came to the Major Deegan South, and saw Yankee Stadium. That’s when it hit me.”
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Girardi on the Yanks’ not suffering a Subway Series letdown: “I don’t think so. We came out with great energy. We just didn’t hit.” …
Catcher Chris Stewart was designated for assignment to make room for Gardner.