Boone pulls Gio,

CLEVELAND — Gio Urshela was not in the lineup Thursday, a day after he came out of a game with a tight lower back. The Yankees third baseman was listed as “day-to-day,” Aaron Boone said before Thursday night’s series opener against Cleveland at Progressive Field.

“He is doing pretty good today. He’s been in for a lot of treatments, “the Yankees manager said. “I would say quite a bit better than last night when we had to take him out of there, so he’s day to day. I’d say there’s a chance he’s an option for us tonight. And hopefully back in there tomorrow.”

Boone said Wednesday night that Urshela’s back tightened up in his last at-bat and attributed some of it to the cold.

It’s a blow to the Yankees struggling lineup. Urshela was one of just four Yankees regulars hitting above league average.

REST AND RESET

Boone also sat DH Giancarlo Stanton as a maintenance day as he eyed this stretch of 13 straight games.

“I was kind of looking at this might be the day I would sit him knowing that we’re traveling late at night and things like that,” Boone explained. “Kind of trying to look out ahead to what matchups we have, where I might be able to get a day off for one of our guys that are in there every single day. I guess it’s been in the works for a couple days, but decided on it last night and it allows (Aaron) Judge to get off his feet a little bit anyway in the DH role.”

Stanton played in 15 of the Yankees 17 games this season, all as the DH. He went hit-less in his last two games and is 3-for- his last 21 at-bats. Having lost him for significant parts of the last two seasons to injuries, Boone is very careful with pushing him.

“I think he might get another one in this stretch of 13 games that we’re in, we’ll just kind of see where we’re at, see who I want to get in there,” Boone said. “But there’s not a set day, like, oh, he can only play five or seven or eight in a row or anything like that. It’s kind of a day-by-day, weekly thing that we try and monitor closely.”

Boone also sat Gary Sanchez, who is hit-less in his last three games and mired in a 1-for-18 slump.

“A similar kind of thing, coupled with wanting to get (Kyle)