Joe Girardi left Chase Headley out of Wednesday night’s lineup against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium, but the manager said he hoped he would have the third baseman for Thursday’s matinee.
After the Yankees’ 5-4 win, Headley sounded very doubtful about playing Thursday.
“The MRI [exam] showed inflammation behind the [right] knee,’’ said Headley, who couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment the hinge started bothering him. “Hopefully it’s better in a day or so and we can have some clarity. I would be surprised if I played [Thursday].’’
Headley said his knee felt sore during Tuesday night’s game and the problem is in the upper calf.
“I don’t anticipate anything too serious, maybe a day or so to get a handle on what it is,’’ said Headley, who explained it could be a Grade 1 strain or tendinitis.
The light-hitting Gregorio Petit started at third, went 0-for-4 and made a throwing error in the ninth inning that put the potential tying run at second base with two outs.
To make room on the roster for Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Miller, who were activated from the disabled list, the Yankees optioned outfielder Ramon Flores and right-hander Nick Rumbelow to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Ellsbury went 1-for-4 and Miller pitched the ninth inning. Miller needed 30 pitches to pick up his 18th save of the season, allowing a two-run home run to Marcus Semien.
Masahiro Tanaka was hardly dominant in his previous start against the Rays, but the right-hander is trying to build on some of the positives — like not surrendering a home run and allowing just one run after the first inning.
Tanaka had allowed homers in each of his four starts prior to the game against Tampa Bay, including three each in the two outings prior.
“I thought I did some good things the last time out,” Tanaka said through an interpreter on Wednesday.
Despite the mediocre results, Tanaka said he is confident the extra day’s rest he’s received regularly has been beneficial as he heads into Thursday’s outing against Oakland.
“It’s definitely helped,” he said. “It’s given my body a chance to get fresh and allowed me to work on some things more than I would ordinarily.”
With the Yankees pleading for their fans to vote for Brett Gardner in the AL All-Star Final Vote program, the first returns weren’t good for the outfielder, who shifted from center field to left Wednesday night with Ellsbury back. Gardner went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
In the results released Wednesday, Gardner was fourth in a five-man race that was led by Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas. Twins second baseman Brian Dozier was second and Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was third. Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was fifth. Voting will continue until Friday at 4 p.m. (ET).
Dellin Betances, who was named to his second straight All-Star team Monday, wore a white skullcap with “Gardy’’ written on it as a show of support for his teammate. Earlier, the Yankees tweeted out a photo of Girardi and Alex Rodriguez also wearing “#Vote” and “Gardy” skullcaps. The team also wrote: “#VOTEGARDY” in the dirt behind home plate.
“A lot of the guys are putting them on. Some of the guys I am not sure why they are putting them on because they don’t need to,’’ Girardi said of the skullcaps. “I will try and get to the bottom of that. I will probably get one done now that it looks like we won’t [take batting practice].’’
Girardi has been stumping for Gardner the past week or so and wasn’t holding back Wednesday.
“I will continue, please vote for Gardy,” he said. “I would encourage everyone to vote. This guy is so deserving and I would love to see our fans rally behind him.”
Girardi said injured outfielders Slade Heathcott and Mason Williams are on different tracks in their rehab programs.
“Slade is progressing, Mason is not progressing as well as we thought he would,’’ Girardi said. “He was a little sore from throwing so we are taking a few days off.’’
Williams didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. “I am not worried about it,’’ he said.
Asked if his right shoulder problem, which landed him on the DL on June 21, would need surgery to correct, Mason said it wouldn’t. He was injured diving back into first base June 19 against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium.
In eight games, Williams batted .286 (6-for-21) with a home, three RBIs and played very well defensively in center field.
Heathcott, who went on the DL May 30 due to a strained right quadriceps, hit .353 (6-for-17) with a homer and three RBIs in six games.
With Andrew Bailey pitching well at Double-A Trenton, general manager Brian Cashman was asked if the Wagner College product was close to being promoted to the big league bullpen.
“He will be someone we will look at down the line,’’ Cashman said of the right-hander who hasn’t been in the big leagues since 2013 due to major shoulder surgery.
Bailey has worked a total of 11 games and 12 ¹/₃ innings this year. He has allowed nine hits, four walks and fanned 15.
Cashman watched Scranton/Wilkes-Barre play Tuesday night and was impressed with Wilking Rodriguez’s first outing of the season against Syracuse.
“He was throwing 97 [mph] with a big hammer,’’ Cashman said of the 25-year-old right-hander, who was signed as a minor league free agent during the winter and suspended for 80 games for using Furosemide, a diuretic better known as Lasix which is used to help mask banned drugs in urine tests.
Rodriguez appeared in two games for the Royals last season.
Jaron Long, the son of Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, was sent down from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Trenton on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old is 5-6 with a 4.94 ERA in 17 games this season. His spot on the Triple-A roster was taken by outfielder Tyler Austin, who returned from a DL stint.