Brett Gardner likely out for season; Yanks fall to A's

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The reality of the Yankees' current situation is this:

Sometimes, the game result will be the least interesting development of the day.

Such was the case Thursday, a day that dawned with the Yankees holding a 10-game cushion in the AL East.

That lead was "trimmed'' to nine games after a 4-3 loss here, a result more significant to the A's in that it kept them in the AL wild-card race and ended a nine-game skid to the Yankees at O.co Coliseum.

Thursday's Yankees headline?

They found out -- though it surprised few -- they'll likely be without leftfielder Brett Gardner the rest of the season.

The Yankees announced moments before the game -- one in which, if you're looking for an in-game headline, Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to a career-best 22 games -- that Gardner would undergo arthroscopic surgery next week to "remove inflamed tissue from his right elbow.''

Team physician Christopher Ahmad will perform the surgery and the team said the procedure will "most likely conclude'' Gardner's season. Gardner has been on the disabled list since April 18 with a right elbow strain and bone bruise.

"Very unfortunate,'' said Raul Ibañez, who along with Andruw Jones has gotten the bulk of the playing time in Gardner's absence. "We've kind of been pretty much the whole year so it's not an adjustment for Dru or myself.''

The Yankees have been preparing several weeks for what was announced Thursday, stepping up their efforts to secure outfield depth in advance of the trade deadline.

"It's definitely safe to say we're looking'' for outfield help, one organization talent evaluator said.

But the Yankees, still with baseball's best record (57-35) after the loss to the A's, don't feel compelled to make a move; not with the production they've gotten from Ibañez, Jones and Dewayne Wise.

And, with what one opposing team scout called a "thin'' outfield market, it remains to be seen if anything can be done within reason, i.e. cost.

Among the outfielders the Yankees have looked at of late are the Phillies' Shane Victorino, Carlos Quentin of the Padres and the A's Coco Crisp, who singled and scored in a two-run third inning that gave the A's (48-44), a baseball-best 11-2 in July, a 4-0 lead against Freddy Garcia.

General manager Brian Cashman said Sunday he believes the Yankees, as constituted, are a "championship caliber'' team, therefore putting him in position of strength before the trade deadline at the end of the month.

Still, there is organizational concern regarding Ibañez, 40, and Jones, 35, and the unexpected amount of time they've spent in the field since Gardner went on the DL.

"Thirty-five is a lot of miles,'' Jones said with a laugh after Thursday night's game.

Jones said he feels healthy but the day after games "sore,'' which is not unusual.

"Everybody needs to go out there and just continue doing what we've been doing,'' he said.

To this point, neither Jones nor Ibañez has shown many concessions to age and, as manager Joe Girardi said, with the number of lefthanders the Yankees see, he hasn't had to start Ibañez in the field four, five or six straight days .

"This is a rare stretch where we're seeing six out of seven righthanders,'' Girardi said. "I'll watch Raul a little bit in that time.''

Ibañez, who started in left, went 1-for-4 and is batting .243 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs. Jones, who pinch hit in the seventh and popped out, is hitting .239 with 12 homers and 26 RBIs.

Garcia, solid in his three previous starts since being reinserted in the rotation, wasn't sharp, allowing four runs and nine hits in 52/3 innings. Yeonis Cespedes' 12th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the first, gave Oakland a 4-0 lead.

"I was not able to find any pitch,'' Garcia said. "I was in trouble all game but I was able to keep the game close.''

The Yankees were mostly controlled by 24-year-old righthander A.J. Griffin, making his fifth career start. After Ibañez reached on an infield single with one out in the second, Griffin retired 11 straight, with Derek Jeter's second hit of the night breaking the streak in the sixth. Mark Teixeira had a sacrifice fly and Nick Swisher had an RBI single in the inning in which the Yankees pulled to within 4-2. Swisher's 14th home run of the season, in the ninth off Ryan Cook, cut the Yankees' deficit to 4-3.

Griffin (2-0, 2.70) allowed those two runs and seven hits in six innings.

"He started locating pretty good,'' Girardi said. "I talked about it before the game, this kid can locate pitches and that's what he did.''