The LoHud Yankees Blog

Nick Swisher has already had one MRI on his left knee, and it showed nothing but inflammation.

“But I found that really, really hard to believe,” Swisher said.

The Yankees are sending Swisher for a second MRI today. Whatever the picture shows, Swisher is clearly hobbled. He hasn’t moved well for about a week now, and last night he had no chance of running out a ground ball to third base. He told Joe Girardi before the game that he was available for anything Girardi needed him to do — and he can still swing the bat — but he’s not built to move right now.

“I felt like I put some good swings on it,” Swisher said. “He came right at me with some fastballs. Situation like that, all you’re trying to do is put something in the gap. Obviously it’s a lot easier said than done. I got out there, gave it a good at-bat, saw eight or nine pitches and then took it to the house.”

Today, he’ll take it to the MRI tube to double check that there’s nothing torn or broken. Whatever the results, Swisher’s pain is obvious on the field, and his frustration is obvious in his voice. Here’s his postgame session last night.

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Sergio Mitre made a bad pitch that Reid Brignac hit out to right. That part was pretty easy to explain.

Joe Girardi used his long relievers because he wanted to give his reliable setup men an extra day off. Girardi’s explanation might not have satisfied everyone, but he had his own reason for bringing Mitre into the game.

The turning point of last night’s game that was pretty much unexplainable was Brett Gardner’s decision to try to steal third base with two outs in the 10th inning.

Gardner said he didn’t think Joaquin Benoit was going to pick over to third base. Evan Longoria was playing far off the bag, and Gardner thought he could make it. He said he wanted to make Benoit less likely to throw a slider to Austin Kearns, but even Gardner seemed not-quite-sold on his reasoning.

“Looking back on it, I guess it was kind of unnecessary,” he said. “I’m sorry for that… If I got thrown out stealing second, I wouldn’t beat me up about it, but that’s a situation where you can’t get thrown out stealing third.”

There’s no way of knowing how the Kearns at-bat would have finished, but with Gardner’s speed, he would have scored on any sort of base hit. Getting to third might have slightly changed Benoit’s approach, and it would have allowed Gardner to score on a wild pitch or passed ball, but it was far too little gain for such a big risk.

“I screwed up,” Gardner said. “And I take full responsibility.”

Here’s Gardner’s postgame.

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Associated Press photo

Joe Girardi elected to play things extremely safe with his bullpen tonight, yet he used Brett Gardner to pinch run on the day he got an MRI on his right wrist, and he used Nick Swisher to pinch hit on the day before he gets a second MRI on his left knee.

“We just felt like we had to stay away from some guys tonight,” Girardi said. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it during the season, but that doesn’t mean we’re not trying to win the game.”

Mariano Rivera was available only in a save situation, but Dave Robertson and Joba Chamberlain were out of the mix. Robertson had pitched back-to-back days two days ago, so that made some sense. Chamberlain, though, seemed curious. Especially considering Girardi said: “He should be available to us tomorrow. We just felt he needed another day today.”

Girardi, Chamberlain and Dave Eiland all said Chamberlain is 100 percent healthy, but Chamberlain said the Yankees had talked to him about the fact he’s approaching 65 games this season. They wanted to give him a break, and Chamberlain said he was OK with taking it. Eiland suggested the decision was primarily about saving bullets.

“This was a big game obviously, you want to win, but it wasn’t do or die,” Eiland said. “With CC going, we felt like he could get us deep into the game. We had Woody well rested, Boone Logan well rested… Sometimes you lose the battle to win the war. We’re going to have all our big guns, so to speak, tomorrow.”

Here’s Girardi speaking after the game.

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Hyped as a matchup of Cy Young candidates, tonight’s pitching duel between CC Sabathia and David Price did not disappoint. By the fifth inning it became clear the game would be decided by the bullpens. With first place on the line, neither starting pitcher was going to concede the high ground.

“That was a classic,” Eiland said. “That’s going to be talked about for a while.”

Sabathia: “It was just being able to mix it up, (and pitching to) both sides of the plate. And just keeping their speedsters off the bases so you can concentrate on facing the Pena’s and Longoria’s.”

Price: “That was a good game. It was kind of what everybody was expecting, and that’s what they go, so it was a good game… That’s what happens when you face a guy like that.”

• Sergio Mitre had pitched once since September 5. The home run came on a changeup. “When the ball’s given to me, I expect to do the job,” he said. “And I didn’t do it tonight.”

• Eiland said Chad Guadin tried to nibble too much when he walked B.J. Upton to load the bases. On the strikeout against Brad Hawpe, Gaudin got aggressive. For a half inning, it was a huge moment in the game.

• Brett Gardner on his blown steal of third base: “I don’t want to go into detail about what I saw or why I did it, but I thought at the time that there was no way he was going to pick. It was a 1-0 count I was trying to get to third, maybe take away the slider and gets Kearnsy a better pitch to hit. I got a good jump and he picked, and I wasn’t expecting it. I got caught, I screwed up, and it was my fault.”

• Nick Swisher said he went to Girardi before the game and told him he could hit whenever Girardi needed him, but it was clear from watching him run to third that Swisher’s knee is a problem. “We took the MRI before and it said that there was nothing, but I found that really, really hard to believe,” Swisher said. “Go in there tomorrow and whatever happens, take it head on.”

• Gardner said his wrist already felt better tonight than it did this morning.

• Javier Vazquez is considered more of an emergency option out of the bullpen. Girardi didn’t want to go to him unless he had to.

• The Rays have first place in the American League East for only the second day since they were there 52 straight days ending on June 13. The Yankees haven’t been in second place since August 3.

Associated Press photos of Mitre, Sabathia and Jeter.

The Yankees did not have a full bullpen tonight. Joe Girardi wouldn’t go into detail, but he said Joba Chamberlain and Dave Robertson were not available. Chamberlain said he’s healthy, but he knew he was getting the day off. Haven’t talked to Robertson.

YANKEES (87-56)
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Austin Kearns LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Greg Golson RF

LHP CC Sabathia (19-6, 3.14)
Sabathia vs. Rays

RAYS (88-56)
B.J Upton CF
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist RF
Carlos Pena 1B
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Willy Aybar DH
Kelly Shoppach C

LHP David Price (17-6, 2.87)
Price vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:10 p.m. / YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Tom Hallion, 1B Ron Kulpa, 2B Lance Barksdale, 3B Ed Rapuano

WEATHER: Same as in your living room.

ONE OF A KIND: The Yankees remain the only team in the Majors that has not lost more than three games in a row this season. During Joe Girardi’s time as manager, the Yankees have lost four in a row four times, most recently in May of last season.

CUTTING IT CLOSE: The Yankees have played 69 games on the road this season. Of those, 41 have been decided by three runs of less including 15 of the past 18. Eleven of the past 18 road games have been decided by one run, and the Yankees are 4-7 in those contests.

ACE IN THE HOLE: CC Sabathia leads the majors with 19 wins, matching his career high. He’s 15-3 with a 2.62 ERA in his past 19 starts and ranks second in the American League in innings, sixth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts.

CY CANDIDATES: Between them, Sabathia and David Price have 36 wins. This is the third time in the past four years that the Yankees have played a game in which both starters have at least 17 wins: Chien-Ming Wang and Jeff Beckett in 2007, Mike Mussina and Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2008.

UPDATE, 7:33 p.m.: This can’t be the easiest place to play the outfield, but after nearly misreading one ball, Greg Golson was able to stay with that one for a running catch that was the second out of the second inning.

UPDATE, 8:00 p.m.: Through three innings, this is what had to be expected. Both Price and Sabathia have been awfully impressive. Still scoreless.

UPDATE, 8:23 p.m.: Posada caught stealing to end the fifth inning. I don’t know what to say about that.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: Watching this thing, it’s hard to imagine either team being able to score. These guys look legitimately unhittable. Sabathia has retired 10 in a row. Price hasn’t allowed a hit since the first batter of the game. Still scoreless after six.

UPDATE, 8:51 p.m.: One-out single by Cano and a walk by Teixeira have put two on for Rodriguez. It’s the seventh inning, and this is the first time the Yankees have put a runner in scoring position.

UPDATE, 8:58 p.m.: Price stranded runners at first and second in the seventh, and walked off the mound like he was never in trouble. Cano, meanwhile, flung his helmet to the dugout as soon as Marcus Thames’ fly ball landed in B.J. Upton’s glove. The pitchers are in control here. The hitters are helpless.

UPDATE, 9:09 p.m.: Nice diving stop by Teixeira ends the seventh and leaves Sabathia standing on the mound clapping. Still scoreless.

UPDATE, 9:15 p.m.: With Granderson at first, Girardi is going to let Swisher hit for Golson. Can’t imagine he’ll stay in to run the bases or play the field, but he’ll try to take some hacks and at least keep the inning alive.

UPDATE, 9:23 p.m.: I’m sure Swisher’s orders were to not run, so a ground ball to third base wasn’t going to get it done. Here’s Sabathia back out for the bottom of the eighth.

UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.: Here comes Kerry Wood. Both Price and Sabathia went eight scoreless.  As impressive a matchup as I’ve seen.

UPDATE, 9:50 p.m.: Carl Crawford is done for the night, ejected for arguing a called strikeout to start the bottom of the ninth.

UPDATE, 9:58 p.m.: Swisher and Gardner are both banged up, but they’re trying to play a role in this game. Gardner’s now on to pinch run for Berkman, who just walked in place of Marcus Thames.

UPDATE, 10:02 p.m.: Well, hard to expect that. Gardner took second and was thrown out trying to take third, possibly because he thought Benoit was about to deliver a pitch or maybe because he though Longoria was too far off the bag. Either way, he broke too early and was out to end the 10th.

UPDATE, 10:27 p.m.: Chad Guadin, of all people, just struck out Brad Hawpe to strand the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th. That seemed like a situation for one of the Yankees one-inning relievers — neither Robertson nor Chamberlain pitched yesterday — but Girardi went with Gaudin and it worked out.

UPDATE, 10:42 p.m.: That’s the Rays’ first 1-0 walkoff in franchise history.

Brett Gardner had an MRI and a cortisone shot today. Nick Swisher will have an MRI tomorrow and is out of the lineup tonight. Heading into their biggest series of the year so far, the Yankees aren’t sure when the cornerstones of their outfield will play again.

“It’s a little concern,” Joe Girardi said. “You would think that over time they’ll get healthy. How many days off? I can’t tell you what each guy will need. There’s really nothing structurally wrong, which is a good sign. Short-term it’s a concern.”

The Yankees have Curtis Granderson, and the next two nights are against right-handed starters, so center field will remain the same as ever. Tonight Austin Kearns is a natural fit in left field against the lefty David Price. The third outfield spot could be a mix-and-match of the righties Greg Golson and Kevin Russo and the lefty Colin Curtis. The past two nights it’s been Golson.

Gardner said he literally could not have swung a bat today, but he also said he’s had one cortisone shot in his life, and it alleviated the problem overnight. From not being able to swing to starting a major league game in a span of 24 hours seems next to impossible, but Gardner didn’t rule it out. He didn’t promise it either.

Swisher has been clearly bothered by that left knee inflammation for a few days now. He’s already had one MRI which showed no structural damage, and he seemed to be getting better, but things got worse last week and he’ll have the knee checked out again.

“You could see at times that he would limp a little bit, but I would see at times that he would go after balls and not limp,” Girardi said. “Sometimes you wonder how much guys are conserving themselves, and that’s why I checked with him every day to make sure he was alright. Yesterday he didn’t feel good and today he didn’t feel good either… The turf might make it a little worse, but he might wake up and feel great one day too.”

• Everything remains on track for Andy Pettitte to pitch tomorrow in Altoona. “I don’t think it’s supposed to rain there,” Girardi said. “But it’s usually not one of the cities that I check if it’s going to rain.”

• Girardi is still not committing to a rotation beyond this series. “We’re just going to wait and see how everyone does here and what we need,” he said.

• Robinson Cano batting second: “We just thought it was our best bet,” Girardi said. “We went over the names.”

• Jorge Posada came through yesterday’s game so well that Girardi didn’t even check with him before making out today’s lineup. “I just assumed that he was fine,” Girardi said. “Jorge would tell me or let somebody know if he wasn’t.”

• Boone Logan remains the only lefty in the bullpen, but Girardi said he doesn’t plan to use him all three days of this series. Probably just two out of three. “Probably not because it would be five out of six,” Girardi said.

UPDATE, 6:09 p.m.: Rays lineup
B.J Upton CF
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist RF
Carlos Pena 1B
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Willy Aybar DH
Kelly Shoppach C

Associated Press photo of Gardner, Swisher and Granderson.

An MRI on Brett Gardner’s right wrist showed no break or tear, but it did show considerable inflamation. Gardner got a cortisone shot and is hopeful it will do the trick within a day or two.

“I couldn’t have picked up a bat today and swung,” Gardner said.

The pain is right at the base of the wrist, a little bit lower than the spot where Gardner was hit by a pitch in Los Angeles. He said he can play defense and pinch run tonight.

Gardner said he considered today’s MRI, “pretty much good news.”

Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Austin Kearns LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Greg Golson RF

In minor news, the Yankees have announced that Wilkin De La Rosa has cleared waivers and been outrighted back to Double-A Trenton.

The Yankees offense stumbled through Texas. Nick Swisher is day-to-day at best, Brett Gardner is heading for an MRI tube and throughout the Rangers series the Yankees were either leaving too many runners on base or not getting enough base runners in the first place.

It won’t get any easier tonight against Cy Young candidate David Price, but the Yankees have the guy they want taking the mound.

“Just try to treat it like anything else,” CC Sabathia said. “We all know, every game for us right now is big.”

This kind of series isn’t supposed to be easy. The Yankees and Rays have been the best teams in baseball, and they’re playing for first place in the game’s toughest division. Tonight, they’re throwing their aces in Game 1.

Sabathia is 1-1 against the Rays this season. Through three starts he has a 2.53 ERA against the Rays, but that number dips to 1.88 at Tropicana Field. He’d won six straight starts before an uncharacteristically rocky outing against Baltimore on Tuesday.

Like Sabathia, Price is 1-1 against the Yankees. He’s made two starts against them: A strong seven-inning win at the Trop and a rough five-inning loss in the Bronx. The Rays have won seven of his past nine starts, and he’s won two straight allowing six hits in his past 14 innings against Boston and Toronto.

“You’ve got to embrace it,” Sabathia said. “I’m not facing (Price). I’m facing their lineup, so I’ll go out and just try to put up zeros. I know he’s going to do the best he can, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Associated Press photo

Tonight
LHP CC Sabathia (19-6, 3.14)
vs
LHP David Price (17-6, 2.87)
7:10 p.m., YES Network

Tuesday
RHP Ivan Nova (1-0, 2.92)
vs.
RHP Matt Garza (14-8, 3.68)
7:10 p.m., MY9

Wednesday
RHP Phil Hughes (16-7, 4.26)
vs.
RHP James Shields (13-12, 4.98)
7:10 p.m., YES Network and ESPN

Carl Crawford is the only Rays position player who’s hitting better than .300… Brad Hawpe has two home runs and six RBI in seven games since joining the Rays… All five Rays starters have at least 10 wins and a better-than-.500 record… Touted outfield prospect Desmond Jennings is up with the Rays. He got his first big league hit on Saturday. Pitching prospect Jeremy Hellickson is working out of the Rays bullpen for the time being.

Associated Press photo of Hughes