Extra BP pays off with Gardner homer

It seems that extra batting practice finally paid off for Brett Gardner.

The struggling leftfielder gave the Yankees a much-needed lift in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday night, belting a waist-high, 88-mph four-seamer off starter Gavin Floyd into the rightfield seats. It was the second home run of the season for Gardner, who came into the game with just three hits in his previous 38 at-bats.

Publicly manager Joe Girardi has maintained his faith in Gardner's swing, sounding convinced that the leftfielder's extra work in the batting cage with hitting coach Kevin Long eventually would reap dividends.

"They're talking about it on a daily basis, they've looked at film, they do different things," Girardi said of Gardner, who is batting .145 with five RBIs. Last season, he hit .277 with five home runs and 47 RBIs in 150 games. "He's one of our guys who's gotten off to a slow start, and when you're in that slow start, it's not a lot of fun.

"But you have to fight your way out of it. You can go through it in the middle of the season and sometimes it doesn't have a big affect and it's not as noticeable. But when you look up there and you see you're hitting .140 or .130, it's frustrating as a player, there's no doubt about it. But Gardy's a tough kid and I've seen the toughness since Day One and he's going to fight through it."

Gardner (1-for-3) did just that, ripping a pitch over the rightfield wall to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead Tuesday night. And even though the lead didn't hold up -- thanks to Paul Konerko's two-run shot off Rafael Soriano in the eighth -- Gardner's longball could be a harbinger of good things to come from him.

The leftfielder, who began the season in the No. 2 hole against righties, was dropped from the lineup altogether for two games against lefties before Girardi slotted him in the ninth spot last week. The lineup shuffle was to take pressure off Gardner.

Asked about his ever-changing lineup spot, Gardner said he was fine hitting anywhere in the order, adding that his film sessions with Long uncovered some troubling mechanical issues. "Some swings I was taking, I wasn't using my lower half, and not only was I getting behind in the count in most of my at-bats, but when I was taking a swing, it wasn't always my 'A' swing," he said. "And that's something that's very important."