The LoHud Yankees Blog

Hard to blame the Cubs for making the decision. With the game tied in the eighth, Nick Swisher was coming to the plate and the Cubs went to a right-handed reliever. They wanted Swisher to hit left-handed, the side where he was hitting .173 coming into this game.

“Either way, I’m ready,” Swisher said. “I’m not a guy that really looks at the numbers. I just go off how I feel in my own head. You have to. This game can beat you up and it can put you at the top of the mountain. You’re going to have good times and bad times, but tonight was definitely a good night.”

You know what happened next. Chris Carpenter fell behind, he threw a fastball, and Swisher crushed it for a three-run homer that put the Yankees in front.

Swisher’s been that kind of hitter lately. He was brutal earlier this season, but for the past month now he’s hit for average, hit for power and drawn 21 walks in his past 23 games.

“I feel good,” he said. “I know I dug myself a hole there early in the season, but I’ve been battling, fighting and putting the time in, just having run. I’m finally laughing again and smiling, really enjoying the game like I know how.”

Brett Gardner also seems to have turned his season around, and Jorge Posada was showing some positive signs before the Yankees fell into the National League portion of the schedule and lost their designated hitter. I’ve written before that the best case scenario is always for a good player to remember how to be good again. That trumps any sort of trade, signing or call-up. The Yankees need Swisher to be the hitter he was last season, and lately, he’s looked like that guy again.

“He’s pretty much the same guy (as earlier in the season), but he’s a little louder, which is good,” Joe Girardi said. “Swish brings a lot of energy to our club. It’s frustrating as a ballplayer when you struggle. In any walk of life, when you struggle it’s frustrating. For him it’s been good… He’s been swinging the bat so much better for us. It’s great. He’s had some RBIs here. He had a sac fly I believe it was yesterday. It seems like both sides are starting to come together for him.”

Here’s Swisher.

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• CC Sabathia had another one of those games where he looked rocky earlier and seemed to finally decide he’d had enough. After the Alfonso Soriano homer that gave the Cubs a three-run lead, Sabathia allowed just three more hits and he retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced. “Changeup was rough. Two-seam was terrible,” Sabathia said. “I just wanted to try to go out and keep us in the game and keep it close, and these guys found a way to score runs again.”

• Both Sabathia and Girardi said the key was going to more offspeed pitches late in the game. The Cubs were being aggressive, and Sabathia was able to get some early swings and misses.

• Of course, you know what Sabathia was most upset about: His 0-for-3 at the plate. He actually came up in pretty key spots early in the game and never got it done. And that’s from a guy who takes a lot of pride in his ability to hit. And his teammates know it. “I’ve been getting crushed in (the clubhouse),” Sabathia said. “You know me, I didn’t go in and look at pitches I was throwing. I went in and looked at my three at-bats. We’ve got some work to do before Citi Field.”

• Someone asked what Kevin Long’s told him about his at-bats. “He won’t even look at me,” Sabathia said.

• Alex Rodriguez said he thought one of two things would happen on his deep fly ball in the ninth: “Either out (of the park) or an easy out,” he said. “I didn’t think it would hit off the wall for a double, but I was very happy. I’ll take the double, the RBI and the W.”

• Rough couple of days for Russell Martin, who was run over at home plate yesterday and was hit in the head on a swing tonight. “It’s part of the trade unfortunately,” Girardi said. “You’re going to get hit with some back swings and it’s frustrating, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

• Girardi said he was going to Dave Robertson in the bottom of the eighth, no matter what happened in the top of the inning. “I was going to make the switch because that part of the order had given (Sabathia) trouble,” Girardi said.

• Three-hit game for Brett Gardner, including the first leadoff home run of his career. He has eight multi-hit games in his past 15. “I really didn’t have a lot of concerns (putting him in the leadoff spot),” Girardi said. “His struggles the first month of the season were whether he was hitting first or ninth, he was struggling. He’s just started to swing the bat well.”

• After losing the opener, the Yankees were able to salvage a series win. “It’s a good feeling,” Girardi said. “We didn’t score any runs the first day, and to be able to come back and the way he won tonight, it’s a close game and then we were able to break it open.”

Associated Press photos

Alex Rodriguez has been getting treatment on a sore left shoulder for about 10 days, but both Rodriguez and Joe Girardi said the problem is not serious.

“Normal bumps and bruises,” Rodriguez said.

Earlier tonight, ESPNNewYork quoted a source who called the injury a strain, but Girardi said that’s not the case, and Rodriguez said he hasn’t gone for any tests. He’s been getting some extra heat, but that’s about it.

YANKEES (40-29)
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
CC Sabathia LHP

LHP CC Sabathia (8-4, 3.28)
Sabathia vs. Cubs

CUBS (29-41)
Reed Johnson CF
Starlin Castro SS
Jeff Baker 1B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Lou Montanez RF
D.J. LeMahieu 2B
Randy Wells RHP

RHP Randy Wells (1-1, 5.63)
Wells vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 8:05 p.m., ESPN

WEATHER: There was some rain in the forecast, but so far we’ve been fairly lucky.

UMPIRES: HP Todd Tichenor, 1B Gerry Davis, 2B Greg Gibson, 3B Sam Holbrook

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY: The Yankees are 17-22 on Father’s Day since the holiday was created in 1972. They’ve gone 5-3 in their past eight Father’s Day games and they’ve played an interleague game on Father’s Day 11 years in a row (13 times overall). The Yankees beat the Cubs at Yankee Stadium on Father’s Da in 2005.

ON THE MARK: Mark Teixeira has hit safely in each of the seven Father’s Day games he’s played in his career. He’s a .285 hitter with two homers and nine RBI on Father’s Day, and last year he hit a grand slam off Johan Santana, driving in all the runs in a 4-0 Father’s Day win for the Yankees.

FINISH STRONG: The Yankees have won eight of their past 10 series finales. They’re 16-7 in series finales this season.

ON THIS DATE: Lou Gehrig was born in New York City on June 19, 1903.

UPDATE, 8:10 p.m.: That’s Gardner’s first career leadoff home run.

UPDATE, 8:59 p.m.: I’m actually a little bit surprised that catchers don’t get bonked by a swing more often. Martin just took a bat to the head, but he’s staying in the game. It’s 1-1 in the third.

UPDATE, 9:02 p.m.: Nevermind. It’s 4-1 in the third. Alfonso Soriano just hit a three-run homer to left.

UPDATE, 9:19 p.m.: Starlin Castro took his foot off the bag too early and opened the door two a two-run fourth inning for the Yankees (and there are still two runners on with two outs). It’s 4-3.

UPDATE, 9:27 p.m.: Martin has been run over at home plate, hit in the head by a bat and now he’s ripped a ball out of Alex Rodriguez’s hand to make an out at first. Weird weekend for the Yankees catcher.

UPDATE, 9:28 p.m.: Wow, what a throw by Nunez.

UPDATE, 9:58 p.m.: Is it weird that Gardner started this game with a home run, and since then it’s been the rest of the Yankees lineup that’s been playing small ball to come from behind and pull even in the sixth? Tied at four after a couple of singles and a sacrifice fly.

UPDATE, 10:30 p.m.: Only the Yankees second extra-base hit of the night, but it’s a big one. Nick Swisher’s three-run homer — crushed, by the way — gives the Yankees a 7-4 lead in the eighth.

Happy Father’s Day everyone.

My dad is probably in a wheat field somewhere in Southeast Missouri, I’m here at a ball field in Northern Illinois and this afternoon Joe Girardi was down in Peoria visiting his own father. He said he drove down this morning, spent about two hours with his dad, then drove back to Chicago. Girardi’s dad has been sick, but today was encouraging.

“The morning was very good,” Girardi said. “Better than I expected after what I had heard. His eyes were open, he was moving and he ate well, so it was all good.”

Girardi said it was the first time since 2007 that he spent Father’s Day with his dad.

When Girardi got back to Chicago, his own kids gave him their Father’s Day gifts. His son gave him a new iPod, one daughter gave him a handmade toothbrush holder and the other gave him a big plate because — as she told him — the Yankees manager likes to eat.

“They know their daddy,” Girardi said.

• Girardi hadn’t checked with Russell Martin, but he was confident his catcher would be fine after yesterday’s collision. “It was just a check on the boards, right?” Girardi said, a rock-solid hockey reference for his Canadian catcher.

• The Yankees bullpen is largely built around the goal of getting the ball to Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera. The rest of the bullpen has been pieced together, but the Yankees have seen encouraging signs from guys like Cory Wade and Hector Noesi who might be primed for larger roles. “I haven’t really looked at it about guys winning jobs, it’s just based on needs,” Girardi said. “Wade is a guy that I know I can use in the back end. I know that, just because he’s done it before. Noesi was the one that I talked to, I told him … I will use you for distance too, but your role’s going to change a little bit, so don’t be surprised.”

• Girardi said he still considers Luis Ayala his top option in the seventh inning. He wasn’t available yesterday because he’d thrown so much recently.

• With all of his new relievers, Girardi said he looks primarily at quality strikes. It was quality strikes that made him believe Noesi could be valuable in short stints.

• Still quite a bit of talk this afternoon about Eduardo Nunez’s defense. Nunez said he learned from Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano to move forward, not letting defense affect offense and vice versa. “It’s good to see him be able to turn the page,” Girardi said. “Players are going to make errors, that’s the bottom line. Yes, they’re frustrating and you don’t want them to happen, but I don’t see him taking it to his offense and I don’t see him taking his offense to his defense. I think he’s just playing the game, and that’s what we want.”

• Yesterday’s Nunez error came on a ball that never actually hit his glove. Nunez said the ball took a bad hop and actually hit him in his bare hand before shooting away. “It’s an error anyway,” Nunez said.

• Martin will be off either Tuesday or Wednesday (when the Yankees have a night game, then a day game in Cincinnati).

• Girardi guessed that he had Logan up and throwing in the bullpen five times on Thursday and Friday, which made him hesitant to use him on Saturday. He’s not hurt or anything, just hasn’t actually pitched in a while.

• I was writing and didn’t see it, but apparently CC Sabathia hit three homers in a row during batting practice.

• Phil Hughes went 4.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in his rehab start for Staten Island. He struck out seven and gave up a home run to a catcher named Nelfi Zapata.

CUBS
Reed Johnson CF
Starlin Castro SS
Jeff Baker 1B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Lou Montanez RF
D.J. LeMahieu 2B
Randy Wells SP

Associated Press photos

Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
CC Sabathia LHP

Let’s start this Sunday with a rather off-the-wall story about a completely unexpected pitcher.

I was away on the day Brian Gordon made his Yankees debut, but even if I were there, I doubt I would have noticed his glove. I remember only two times that I actually paid much attention to a player’s glove during a game: The first time I saw Kei Igawa break out his blue glove in Scranton — it was hard to miss it — and the first time I saw Pat Venditte pitch.

Anyway, here’s a story that’s not so much about the newest Yankees starter. It’s really about the newest Yankees glove.

NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Gordon took the ball from the pocket of his black glove, wound up and threw his first pitch for the New York Yankees.

A career minor leaguer, it all seemed pretty natural for the newcomer. Except for his mitt, that is.

On Thursday, Gordon is believed to have become the first big leaguer to play with a glove made entirely of synthetic materials. Not a side panel or string of leather anywhere.

Way to flash the nylon microfiber, rook!

Sitting high up along the third-base side at Yankee Stadium, Scott Carpenter soaked in the entire scene.

“It was chills,” he related Friday by phone. “To see my name on the mound, starting a game for the New York Yankees, I couldn’t believe it.”

That’s because he’s the founder — and only full-time employee — of Carpenter Trade Company. From his shop in Cooperstown, N.Y., near the Baseball Hall of Fame, he’d spent 10 years on this labor of glove, building toward this moment.

“I always had the dream that synthetics were the future of baseball gloves and that I would be the person who made the first all-synthetic glove used in major league baseball,” he said. “I kept it to myself because it seemed so preposterous. There weren’t a lot of people offering a lot of encouragement along the way.”

“Baseball is all about traditions. One of them is the lore of the glove, the memories of the smell of the leather and breaking it in,” he said. “There’s such a romantic notion of that, the idea of a synthetic glove strikes people the wrong way.”

These lightweight mitts that carry his name are totally legal. Even though the Official Baseball Rules say fielders may “wear a leather glove,” Carpenter checked way in advance with Major League Baseball and got the OK.

“At first I really didn’t know what to think about it,” Gordon said Friday at Wrigley Field, where the Yankees played the Chicago Cubs.

“It’s very different looking and not your, the traditional look. But I asked more and more questions about it and it just made sense to me,” he said. “I think a glove is a tool. A glove is our tool, a tool we use every day, and it may as well fit, fit for us.”

For the record, Carpenter’s gloves have no scent. They also don’t require any oils, shaving cream or water to break them in. Pop a ball in the web, that’s plenty.

The advantage of these new-wave gloves, Carpenter said, is that they’re five to 10 ounces lighter than standard leather models — consider a baseball weighs five ounces, and when a fielder moves his mitt into position, that could mean the fraction of a second between a nifty play and near-miss.

“It’s a very simple equation: Lighter is better,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said about a half-dozen minor leaguers currently use his gloves. Gordon got the idea from Triple-A pitcher Michael Schwimer — they were teammates at Lehigh Valley in the Philadelphia system until this week, when Gordon joined the Yankees.

Synthetic components in gloves have become increasingly popular in recent years. Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay and other big leaguers use mitts that supplement leather with man-made materials.

Gordon’s glove, from a distance, looks like anyone else’s. Up close, it’s easy to see the different, carefully constructed panels. All of Carpenter’s gloves are black, rather than the shiny brown leather often seen in a Wilson A2000 or Rawlings Heart of the Hide model.

The 39-year-old Carpenter formerly tried his hand at making sneakers. He said an old cobbler in Brooklyn once told him baseball gloves were much harder to build. An artist’s residency in the Adirondacks eventually put him on this trial-and-path.

For glove of the game, so to speak.

Carpenter said synthetic materials allow for greater strength and flexibility. He said there’s some trade secrets, too, in the design because the nylon microfibers move differently than leather.

“He does a casting of your hand, he molds your hand and then builds the glove from that mold, from the hand out. It’s just a true fit. Right when you get it it’s ready to go,” Gordon said. “There’s no slipping or wearing or tearing. It’s a very durable piece.”

“He asks you which way you like to squeeze a glove,” he said. “Some guys are thumb to pinky, thumb to ring finger, thumb to middle finger. He’ll take that information. Then that way, right when you slip your hand in it’s already broken towards that fit.”

No two of Carpenter’s gloves are exactly alike. Some come with embroidery: Gordon’s mitt has red stitching with a Bible passage.

Carpenter makes hardball and softball gloves for outfielders and most infielders — no catcher’s mitts or versions for first basemen. It takes about 20 hours for each, and he’s currently working on another one for Gordon.

A quirky part of his business: He hasn’t sold a glove this year. Instead, he trades them. He recently bartered a glove to a musician who is putting “Carpenter Trade Company” into the lyrics of a new song.

For now, Carpenter is glowing over seeing his glove in the big leagues. He’s positive it’s the first totally synthetic mitt in the majors.

“I suppose only God knows for 100 percent certainty whether or not some guy in 1921 went out for one inning of an MLB game wearing an all-canvas glove,” he wrote in an email.

“I have been working hard at this milestone for 10 years” and done research with the Hall of Fame and other sources, he said. “I can’t imagine there is anyone more knowledgeable than I am about this question.”

Associated Press photos

Bowled over and knocked to the ground, Russell Martin picked himself off the dirt and turned toward two men. He was showing one of them his glove, and more importantly, the ball still securely tucked inside it. But was he showing it to Carlos Pena or home plate umpire Sam Holbrook?

“I was showing it to Pena,” Martin said. “That’s just the feistiness in me.”

Or, to put it another way: “When someone’s trying to run you over,” Joe Girardi said. “You don’t necessarily help them up.”

Ever since Buster Posey was lost for the season, home plate collisions have been a hot-button topic around baseball. Girardi has said time and again that he was against any sort of catcher-protection rule. Catchers are supposed to block the plate, he said, and that’s what Martin did tonight.

“That was a clean hit,” Martin said. “There wasn’t anything dirty. As a catcher, you have to know when to put your body in position and when not to… Yesterday, I told Swisher, ‘I’m getting bored back there. I haven’t had a play in a long time.’ I got what I asked for.”

In reality, the play occurred in three parts: On the mound, in the outfield and at the plate.

Wade’s pitch
Twice the Yankees got the ground ball they needed to get out of that sixth inning. It was a 3-2 game with one out and one one when A.J. Burnett induced a routine grounder to short. Eduardo Nunez tried to rush it and blew it. It was still 3-2 with two on and one out when Cory Wade ground a ground ball to third. Robinson Cano tried to rush the turn and blew it.

Full count, bases loaded, the decisive pitch was a changeup, a gutsy decision by a guy who was more or less a complete unknown a little more than a week ago.

“Very good pitch on Corey’s part,” A.J. Burnett said. “He threw a changeup right there, 3-2, and Gardy made a great play and Russell held onto it. Russ lives for that kind of stuff.”

Gardner’s play
The drive to left was a weird one, a low line drive that might have fallen in front of a slower player. Brett Gardner made a kind of awkward catch, but the key was that he stayed on his feet.

“It was a little off-balance, running in,” Gardner said. “I tried as hard as I could to get to it and catch it without having to dive for it. It was pretty low and hooking toward the line, so I tried to get to it as quick as I could. If I leave my feet, there’s no way I’m going to throw him out.”

Gardner’s momentum was going toward the infield, which helped, and the throw was perfect. One-hop to the plate, which left Martin in a good position and with time to brace for the blow and see it coming.

“That’s what you’re hoping for when you see that play develop, long hop,” Martin said. “The tough ones are the short hops. If you bobble the ball, that’s when you’re going to get crushed.”

Martin’s collision
Carlos Pena’s not a small man. Martin said he expected a collision from the moment the ball was hit into left field, and he called the impact itself “survival mode.”

“I love it,” he said. “I love it when I don’t get hit in the head… In my life, I don’t remember ever dropping a ball. You can feel it when it starts getting loose. He hit me in a good spot and I took the hit with me.”

Gardner came in from the outfield pumping his fist. Wade was backing up the play, and he pumped his fist too. Martin showed Pena the ball and walked away.

“That’s baseball,” Girardi said. “That’s how I went into home plate, and that’s how I’ve been run over, and that’s how you block the plate. Russell’s tough. Russell came up fine and that’s baseball… When you put that gear on, that’s what you sign up for.”

Or, to put it another way: “I’ve never caught before,” Gardner said. “But it can’t be easy to hold on to the ball when you’re hit by a big boy like that. Great job by Russ holding on to it.”

Here’s Martin.

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And here’s Gardner.

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• Can’t overlook the error on the double play ball, but Eduardo Nunez still managed to show why the Yankees have some faith in him as an everyday shortstop while Derek Jeter is on the bench. He scored the go-ahead run, drove in the key insurance run and had his third two-hit day since taking over the position. “I don’t think Nuney (gets) enough credit for what he did in the ninth,” Gardner said. “The double he hit to left-center ended up being the game-winning hit. That was the difference.”

• A.J. Burnett was pretty good today. Actually, he was very good today except for a bad fastball that Pena hit for a two-run home run. Burnett would have pitched through the sixth if not for Nunez’s error. He struck out eight and showed a terrific curveball. Martin said, in retrospect, they should have thrown a changeup on the Pena home run.

• Another day with Burnett praising Martin for his ability to block breaking balls in the dirt. “If I’ve got a strike on a hitter, I’m going to throw it in the dirt as hard as I can,” Burnett said. “I always tell Russ, I just try to get it by him. That’s my goal. He won’t allow it to happen.”

• Burnett on his weird sac bunt that started foul — by a lot — and rolled back into fair territory: “I work on putting English on it,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It bounced a good foot foul and hit that ridge and rolled back fair.”

• Burnett and Ryan Dempster are old friends from their days as teammates with the Marlins. When Dempster broke his bat and sent a chunk flying toward Burnett, Dempster jogged off the field telling Burnett that it was the bat’s fault. “He said it’s bad wood,” Burnett said. “He said, ‘I barreled that ball up.’ … I was pretty focused, but I wanted to see what he had to say. Made me laugh.”

• Until Mariano Rivera allowed a home run in the ninth, this pieced together bullpen had gone eight straight games without allowing a run. Corey Wade, Hector Noesi and Dave Robertson pitched 2.2 scoreless to form the Rivera bridge tonight. “These guys have taken an opportunity and ran with it, a lot of these guys,” Girardi said. “We call up Corey and he does a good job. Noesi does a good job. They’re just throwing the ball well.”

• Girardi said he wasn’t bothered by a series of base running mistakes tonight. He likes his guys being aggressive. The head-scratcher was Alex Rodriguez being thrown out by 10 feet trying to stretch a single into a double. “I didn’t ask him,” Girardi said. “I usually don’t talk to guys right away in that situation. If I had to guess, I think he thought Soriano kind of dropped his head and was just was going to kind of take it easy throwing it in.”

• Nick Swisher’s leg is a little scratched up, but Girardi said he’s fine and will be able to play tomorrow.

Associated Press photos

YANKEES (39-29)
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
A.J. Burnett RHP

RHP A.J. Burnett (6-5, 4.09)
Burnett vs. Cubs

CUBS (29-40)
Kosuke Fukudome RF
Starlin Castro SS
Blake DeWitt 2B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Reed Johnson CF
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Ryan Dempster RHP

RHP Ryan Dempster (5-5, 5.48)
Dempster vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 4:10 p.m., FOX

WEATHER: More or less the exact same as yesterday, except maybe a little more sunshine. A nice day with the wind blowing in.

UMPIRES: HP Sam Holbrook, 1B Todd Tichenor, 2B Gerry Davis, 3B Greg Gibson

HUGHES REHAB: Phil Hughes is schedule to make a rehab start on Sunday for short-season Staten Island. The game will be at Brooklyn. On Tuesday he threw 49 pitches in an extended spring training intrasquad game.

STILL A RELIEF: The Yankees bullpen has gone through a series of injuries, but the team still has the lower bullpen ERA in the American League (2.84) and the third lowest in the Majors behind San Diego (2.46) and Atlanta (2.57).

ON THIS DATE: On June 18, 2005, Derek Jeter hit the only grand slam of his Major League career. It came off the Cubs’ Joe Borowski in an 8-1 Yankees win at Yankee Stadium. Jeter had previous hit 156 career homers, the most by any active player and any Yankee before finally hitting a grand slam.

UPDATE, 4:33 p.m.: Wasted opportunity for the Yankees in the top of the first. Burnett stranded a runner in the bottom half.

UPDATE, 5:05 p.m.: There’s some production from the big hitters in this lineup. RBI double by Cano. Deep sac fly by Swisher. Granderson and Rodriguez have scored for a 2-0 Yankees lead in the third.

UPDATE, 5:27 p.m.: Granderson has reached base three times already.

UPDATE, 5:37 p.m.: The Yankees are pretty familiar with Carlos Pena. This two-run homer in the fourth has tied the game at 2.

UPDATE, 6:11 p.m.: Huge double play for Burnett to get out of the fifth inning. Still tied at two.

UPDATE, 6:25 p.m.: Leadoff single by Nunez has led to a run and a Yankees lead. Sac bunt, runner-advancing single and a sac fly have put the Yankees in front 3-2 in the sixth.

UPDATE, 6:38 p.m.: Obviously Jeter’s range is bad, but is there any chance he would have botched that DP ball? Any chance at all?

UPDATE, 6:42 p.m.: Wow. Wade got the ground ball he needed, but Cano did exactly what Nunez did, he tried to throw the ball before he caught the ball.

UPDATE, 6:46 p.m.: Wow. Again. On target throw by Gardner, nice job by Martin to hold on through a big collision.

UPDATE, 6:57 p.m.: Here’s Hector Noesi. New seventh-inning guy?

It’s been just four games since Eduardo Nunez stepped into the Yankees lineup as an everyday player. He’s had five hits — one of them a home run — two walks, two stolen bases and he has yet to strikeout. Some of the defensive concerns of mid-April seem to have gone away.

“He really hasn’t surprised me, because he’s really done what he’s done as a part-time player,” Joe Girardi said. “His at-bats have been good, and he’s hit the ball hard… He works hard. That’s one thing this kid does. He’s worked hard all year long and it’s paid off.”

This spring, the Yankees took a shot on Nunez’s potential over Ramiro Pena’s experience. They knew Pena could do the job defensively without providing much offense. They believed Nunez could be a significant offensive upgrade without becoming a defensive liability. The offense has generally been there — he’s lacked consistency, but that’s to be expected from sporadic playing time — but the defense was a problem early, especially with his throws that seemed to go anywhere but the first baseman’s glove.

“I think it was the moving around, not playing for basically a month, I think that had something to do with it,” Girardi said. “Playing at second, learning how to throw from different arm angles. For the most part, he had played short his whole career, and from second base, he was down a little bit with his arm angle, because that’s how second basemen throw. Third base, you get on top of it a little more. It was just the adjustment.”

Now Nunez is back at his natural position, and he’ll be there until basically the end of the month. So far, so good.

• Girardi said he’s comfortable with the platoon leadoff situation. He likes Nick Swisher in that spot against lefties, and he’ll stick with Brett Gardner against righties.

• Girardi said he also remains committed to Andruw Jones as a lineup regular against left-handers. Yesterday was an exception because Doug Davis had struggled against left-handed hitters, but for the most part, Jones’ role has not changed. “Jonesy is going to play, that’s the bottom line,” Girardi said. “I made a decision yesterday to play Gardy, we have one more lefty on this trip and I can’t tell you exactly what I’m going to do.”

• Girardi said he still hasn’t talked to Dante Bichette Jr., but he was happy to hear that the signing is official. “I think he’s going to be a good player,” Girardi said. “He’s learned a lot from his father, the young man has got talent, he’s a student of the game like his father was. That’s the reason we drafted him.”

• Girardi hasn’t spoken to Joba Chamberlain since the night before Chamberlain’s surgery. Girardi’s only heard that the surgery went well.

• Since we’re in Chicago and the Yankees are playing the Cubs, Girardi was of course asked about the possibility of trading for Carlos Zambrano. Girardi said he really couldn’t say much on the topic, but he did speak a little bit about the idea that Zambrano’s over-the-top personality might not work well in New York. “I don’t think you really know until you actually get there,” he said. “There are guys that you anticipate will be able to handle it and it can be tough at the beginning, and vice versa, where you think they can’t handle it and they come in and thrive. It’s a tough thing to predict.”

CUBS
Kosuke Fukudome RF
Starlin Castro SS
Blake DeWitt 2B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Reed Johnson CF
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Ryan Dempster RHP

Associated Press photo

Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
A.J. Burnett RHP