Posada pain-free after sprinting around Yankee Stadium

Jorge Posada ran around the field before yesterday's game - the biggest step in his recovery. "No setbacks," said Posada, who has been on the disabled list since May 20, retroactive to May 17, with a hairline fracture in his right foot.

Posada, eligible to come off the DL Tuesday, ran around the bases three times and ran six sprints in the outfield with no pain and no noticeable limp. "I'm telling them I'm available and see what they do," he said.

Since the day he went on the DL, Posada has maintained he'd be back sooner than the original prognosis of three to four weeks. His preference is to not play in rehab games, and Joe Girardi said before the game they might not be necessary.

"He ran great today," Girardi said. "I didn't see any hindrance by that foot . . . To me, tomorrow's a big day to see how that foot feels after taking a little bit of a pounding. If that foot feels good, he's close."

Extra bases

Girardi said his plan Monday was to stay away from RHP David Robertson, who came out of Saturday's game with a mild lower-back strain. Robertson threw 15 pitches on flat ground Monday and said of his back, "It felt good." . . . Brett Gardner sliced the top of his right thumb, which was lightly bandaged after the game, while sliding into second on a seventh-inning steal attempt. "It's fine," he said. Gardner, who was caught stealing twice, and Alex Rodriguez each had three of the Yankees' season-high 18 hits . . . After A-Rod's 20th grand slam in the seventh, Robinson Cano made it back-to-back homers. Rodriguez, who trails only Lou Gehrig (23) and Manny Ramirez (21) in grand slams, also drove in runs with a two-out single in the first and a double in the eighth for a six-RBI day. He has 41 to Cano's 40 . . . Andy Pettitte and Chan Ho Park combined to retire 19 straight Indians . . . The Yankees had 37 runs and 55 hits in the series . . . Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Marcus Thames will give free haircuts to neighborhood youth today at Jordan's barber shop in the Bronx from 1-2 p.m. . . . Jets coach Rex Ryan attended the game and visited with YES during the fourth inning.