Murphy may get first shot as Bird struggles

Less than a week remains before the regular season ends and the Yankees are still trying to mix and match their way to success.

Greg Bird has struggled against southpaws and the Red Sox are slated to use lefties Wednesday and Thursday.

That led to John Ryan Murphy taking grounders at first on Tuesday, something he said he’s been “messing around” with periodically during the season. But Tuesday was his first real workout there under the guidance of infield coach Joe Espada, with man ager Joe Girardi also watching.

“I don’t remember ever having played first,” Murphy said before the Yankees’ 104 loss to the Red Sox. “I played third a lot growing up and some in [Single] A ball.”

Despite that lack of experience, the catcher said he felt “very comfortable” and was ready to play first base if called upon.

Espada was impressed by Murphy’s hands, but admitted he’s not going to become an expert anytime soon.

“If there’s a ground ball, I think he’ll catch it,” Espada said. “Now it’s about cuts, relays and bunt coverage. He’s got a good foundation from having played at third base and I just want to keep it simple. This late in the season, it’s a challenge.”

The Yankees have tried to be patient with Masahiro Tanaka and getting him another start before a potential wildcard game while still making sure he’d have enough rest to make that start.

The weather may not help, with rain in the forecast for most of the rest of the week both in New York and Baltimore, where the Yankees finish the regular season this weekend.

“[Wednesday] night appears to be OK,” Girardi said. “Then moving forward, it appears to be bad. ... So we’ll have to see what the conditions are.”

Regardless, he said he wants Tanaka to get some work.

“I think we need to get him out there,” Girardi said.

Brett Gardner had two hits, his first multihit game since he had two Sept. 12. He also stole his 20th base of the season.