Gardner Leaves Game With Oblique Strain

Move over, Derek Jeter, Jayson Nix, Kevin Youkilis, David Phelps, Michael Pineda, and every other Yankee on the disabled list this season, another player is likely to be joining to list.

Yankees OF Brett Gardner left Thursday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning because of a left oblique strain. Gardner struck out in his first at-bat of the game, and walked straight to the clubhouse from the batters box.

As of now, Gardner is considered day-to-day, but the problem with oblique strains is that they're tricky to deal with. It's usually an injury that could last for a few weeks. If it doesn't heal quick, Gardner's season is likely to be over.

For the Yankees to lose Gardner would be a serious blow to their playoff chase, as Gardner has been a strong bat of the top of the Yankees lineup. With a .344 on-base percentage, he hit .273 with 8 homeruns on 52 RBIs this season for the Bombers.

This has easily been Gardner's best season since debuting in the majors, as he had set new career-highs in hits, doubles, triples, homeruns and RBIs.

He was replaced in center field by Curtis Granderson, who is now expected to take over the role as the Yankees everyday center field, while also sharing time with Ichiro.

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