Vet Gardner delivers after getting start over Frazier
There was some debate about who would start in left field on Tuesday, but Brett Gardner said his mindset never changed as Game 1 of the Wild Card Series approached.
“I always expect to be there,’’ Gardner said. “I always prepare, no matter what my role is.”
Aaron Boone went with the veteran Gardner in left field over Clint Frazier in Game 1 and Gardner delivered an RBI double off Shane Bieber to spark a two-run fourth and added a two-run homer in the seventh in a 12-3 romp over the Indians at Progressive Field.
“I had a good idea [I was playing on Monday] night,’’ Gardner said. “I’m excited about being in the lineup and the swings I took.”
Boone said he went with Gardner in part because of the spacious left field in Cleveland, as well as Gardner’s performance at the plate toward the end of the regular season.
Gardner improved offensively, while Frazier tailed off.
“[It was] something we discussed a lot and thought about here a lot the last couple of days which way I wanted to go,’’ Boone said before the game about the left field decision. “Really feel good either way I would have gone. I just feel like the way [Gardner] has started to swing the last few weeks and what he brings defensively in this ballpark.’’
But Gardner made the biggest impact with his bat. He followed Gleyber Torres’ one-out walk with a double and homered in the seventh.
“He had really good at-bats,’’ Boone said afterwards. “The homer padded the lead, but that double seemed huge.”
Gardner was one of just two lefty bats in the lineup Tuesday, along with the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks.
Gardner’s performance would have been hard to predict not that long ago, when the 37-year-old was slumping earlier in September. He went hitless in 14 at-bats when the Yankees lost four of five from Sept. 4-9.
And Frazier’s bat was hot and his defense improved.
But Gardner turned his season around by going 10-for-26 with a .500 on-base percentage in his last nine games, while Frazier cooled off in his final six games, in a 1-for-20 slump with 11 strikeouts.
With the Indians planning to start right-handers Carlos Carrasco in Game 2 and Zach Plesac if there is a Game 3, Gardner could start in left for all three.
“Our season started today,’’ Gardner said. “I had no doubts [about myself ]. I felt good and healthy all season even though a few weeks ago my numbers were not good.”
Now, none of those numbers matter.