Girardi not worried about slumping Gardner

MINNEAPOLIS - Brett Gardner knows his speed is his main asset, but to the detriment of his team, he hasn't been able to use it much.

"It doesn't seem like I've stolen a base in three weeks," Gardner said. "I haven't been getting on base recently. When I do, I'll be running again."

Gardner was hyperbolizing a bit - his last stolen base heading into last night's game was May 15 against the Twins - but the outfielder clearly is slumping.

Gardner, who raised his average to .337 with three hits in the Yankees' 8-0 victory over the Tigers on May 12, went 0-for-13 in last weekend's series against the Mets to drop his average to .294. He hasn't been getting on base in other ways, either, as his on-base percentage has dropped from .420 to .372 in that same stretch.

"Maybe I've been pressing a little bit, striking out more than I had," Gardner said. "Probably my pitch selection hasn't been as good."

Gardner said part of his problem, especially in the Mets series, was falling behind in the count.

"The last few days against the Mets, guys made some good pitches to me," Gardner said. "It was like I was behind every at-bat and it's tough to hit like that. Even if you're still putting balls in play, you're not going to be squaring as many balls up when you're down 0-2 or 1-2."

Manager Joe Girardi, who said Gardner will shift back to leftfield when Curtis Granderson returns - which could be as soon as Friday - isn't concerned.

"He just hasn't gotten a lot of hits the last couple days but that's what every hitter goes through," Girardi said. "He played basically every inning of that stretch that we had. Sometimes when you do that, you're going to run into some hiccups, but I don't imagine and don't anticipate it lasting a long time."

Girardi said if Granderson wasn't hurt, he might have given Gardner a break to catch his breath. But the injuries made that impossible.

"I might have given a day here and there but we really didn't have that luxury," Girardi said. "So he had to play every inning."

The injuries, primarily the one to Nick Johnson, who hit second when he was in the lineup, caused Gardner to be moved up in the order. When asked if that would continue when Granderson comes back, Girardi said, "That's something we'll have to talk about."

Regardless, Gardner said hitting second hasn't been a factor in his slump.

"Mentally for me, it's the same approach," he said. "You go to bat a little earlier in the game, you're hitting in the first [inning] instead of the second or third. But my job is to see pitches and get on base and get hits and get walks and do those things, and it doesn't matter if I'm first or second or eighth or ninth."

Gardner said he still feels "comfortable at the plate," and that, as Girardi said, his skid is something every player has to deal with.

"There's going to be ups and downs during the course of the season," Gardner said. "You can't stay consistent the whole way through I don't think. When things aren't going well, just try to get out of it as soon as possible and just try and get on base."