It’s not a surprise when the Yankees’ aging stars bite the dust. But losing one of the few guys who can still fly around the bases is not what New York was hoping for as the Yankees try to win enough games in the final stretch of the season to grab a wild card berth.
Brett Gardner, who has provided pop atop the Yankees’ batting order and stolen 24 bases this season, is getting an MRI on Friday after injuring his oblique in New York’s 6-5 win over Baltimore on Thursday night, according to ESPN. The rest of the Yankees are headed to Boston for a three-game series, but Gardner pulled himself from Thursday night’s game and will get checked out Friday after feeling pain in his rib cage.
“I have no idea [how bad it is],” Gardner said. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this before. But it felt serious enough for me to say something and come out of the game. So you take what you want from that. I don’t think anything’s broken, obviously, but it’s just one of those things where I’ve never had an issue before, and I know something’s not right.”
Gardner left after his at-bat in the first inning. He said he felt pain in his rib cage and tried to stretch his left oblique but didn’t feel better after moving around.
“It’s not what we want right now,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who has been working with a limited roster all season. “Keep your fingers crossed that it’s not much.”
The Red Sox nearly swept the Yankees in a four-game set in the Bronx last week. They’ll look to do further damage to the Yankees’ playoff hopes this weekend in Boston.
