It’s a new day, and that means a new injury to a Yankees player.
Outfielder Brett Gardner missed Wednesday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles with discomfort in his left thumb, which Gardner broke last year, forcing him to miss six weeks.
According to ESPN.com, X-rays were negative, but his thumb was tightly wrapped in adhesive tape.
"There's nothing going on in there like last year," Gardner told ESPN.com. "Hopefully, it’s nothing, and I’ll just be day-to-day."
Manager Joe Girardi said Gardner "dinged" the thumb during an at-bat early in Tuesday’s 12-7 win against the Orioles. Gardner was removed for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.
"It's probably happened to him 20 or 30 times since the injury, and it always comes back the next day," Girardi told ESPN.com. "This time, it didn't come back, and that is a concern."
Gardner is hitting .314 with three home runs, 19 RBIs and 20 steals in 55 games this season, and his .395 on-base percentage is third on the team.
The outfielder has played a crucial role for a Yankees offense that has been snakebitten by injuries all season long.
On May 2, newly acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson was placed on the disabled list with a strained groin.
Six days later, designated hitter and Opening Day two-hole hitter Nick Johnson was placed on the DL with an injured wrist. The 31-year-old had surgery that could keep him out until the end of the season.
On May 20, veteran catcher Jorge Posada went to the DL with a broken foot, and didn’t return to the lineup until last week.
Combine all that with Mark Teixeira’s poor hitting (he’s batting a career-low .224 heading into play on Thursday), and it’s pretty amazing to note that the Yankees lead the major leagues with 330 runs.
