Yankees outfielder Granderson lands on DL with a left groin strain

Curtis Granderson sprinted toward second base, only to be hobbled in pain a moment later.

The Yankees centerfielder will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain after coming up lame in the sixth inning of yesterday's 7-6 loss to the White Sox.

He was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where an MRI revealed a "Grade 2" strain.

The Yankees have recalled righthanded pitcher Mark Melancon from Triple-A Scranton to fill the empty roster spot. He will be in uniform for today's finale against the White Sox, the team said.

After he singled with a man on base in the bottom of the sixth, Granderson tried to move from first to third on Brett Gardner's single to center. But Granderson stumbled slightly as he stepped on second, grabbed his left leg and hobbled safely to third.

"He said he didn't feel a pop, but it just kind of grabbed at him," said manager Joe Girardi, who, along with team trainer Steve Donahue, helped Granderson off the field.

"When I saw him pull up, my initial thought was, 'He's out for a while.' "

Randy Winn pinch-ran for Granderson and scored on Nick Swisher's home run. Gardner shifted to center field in the top of the seventh, and Winn played left.

After the game Girardi said he had yet to figure out what he'll do with his bullpen after using five pitchers in the losing effort.

"My bullpen's a little short right now," Girardi said. "I'll have to talk to Cash about dealing with both those issues in the short term because you wouldn't use Mitre tomorrow or Ace so we have some things we have to talk about."

Melancon's last appearance for the Yankees was Sept. 15, 2009 against Toronto. He had a 3.86 ERA over 16.1 innings last season.

Girardi said Gardner will be the everyday centerfielder until Granderson returns and he'll continue to platoon Marcus Thames and Winn in left.

"When my name's on the lineup card I'll be ready to play," said Thames, who is batting .550. He also said he suffered a groin strain several years ago and was on the 15-day DL as well.

This is the latest setback for Granderson, 29, who has struggled at the plate. He is hitting .225 with two home runs, and his batting average has dropped 88 points (from .313) since April 20.

"It didn't look good," Jorge Posada said of Granderson's injury. "We're going to miss him. We're going to have to get somebody to step up now."

Said Swisher: "Curtis has kind of been our outfield captain in centerfield all year and he's done a great job. Anytime you talk about something like a groin, you want to make sure that gets healthy because we don't want that to come back at all this year."