Gardner ‘not concerned’ by inflammation in knee

Brett Gardner has played more than anyone expected him to this season, but now the injury bug that plagued the rest of the Yankees outfield has finally caught up to him.

The veteran was scratched from the lineup for Sunday’s 8-4 loss to the Rockies and underwent an MRI exam on his left knee that he said showed inflammation, though neither Gardner nor manager Aaron Boone sounded overly concerned about it.

“It’s just something that’s been bothering me for a little bit,” Gardner said before the Yankees flew to Minnesota. “I made a catch [Saturday] in the ninth inning that maybe banged it up a little bit, kind of aggravated it. Obviously this morning it wasn’t feeling great. I could have played.”

Instead, Boone decided to give Gardner the day off and he could get another day to rest it Monday against the Twins.

“He’ll be day-to-day,” Boone said. “[The MRI] showed a little something in there … but not something that was alarming or an [injured list] situation.”

Gardner made a sliding catch on Ryan McMahon’s sinking liner to left field in the ninth inning Saturday. He slid on his right knee, but his left leg came whipping around as he turned into a dive and it made contact with the ground.

While Gardner could not pinpoint when he originally hurt his knee, Boone attributed it to “wear and tear.”

“It’s not even something that I’ve been concerned about,” Gardner said. “Even through the game [Saturday] and the doubleheader [Thursday], it felt pretty good. Just this morning, I didn’t like the way it felt when I woke up. Obviously called Boone and let him know. Hopefully nothing too serious.”

The 35-year-old entered the year expected to see his playing time reduced in a crowded outfield, but Gardner has played in 92 of the season’s first 98 games, including 84 starts. He is the only outfielder on the roster who hasn’t spent time on the injured list or in Triple-A — Aaron Judge missed 54 games with an oblique strain, Aaron Hicks missed 40 games with a back injury and Giancarlo Stanton has played all of nine games because of shoulder, biceps, quad and knee injuries.

Gardner’s replacement on Sunday, Mike Tauchman, ripped a home run against his former team with a solo shot in the fifth inning. Tauchman has been solid since being recalled from Triple-A on June 26 (when Stanton returned to the IL), batting 9-for-21 with seven runs, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and four walks in 10 games.

“Get some medicine and get some treatment,” Gardner said, “and hopefully be back out there in the next couple days.”