Gardner sits with lower abdominal strain

CLEVELAND -- Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner was held out of the starting lineup on Wednesday with what the speedster called a lower abdominal strain, an injury that bothered him during New York's 5-3 loss to the Indians on Tuesday.

Gardner said that he was examined after the game, fearing a hernia. A doctor confirmed that was not the case, and Gardner said that he should be able to be in the lineup for Thursday's series finale at Progressive Field.

"It was bothering me during the game," Gardner said. "I just really felt it yesterday. I actually had a bad stomach bug three or four days ago, so I didn't know if maybe it had something to do with that. The more the game went on, the more I felt that it wasn't necessarily my stomach."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Gardner was dealing with dehydration over the weekend against the Twins. Gardner said that head athletic trainer Steve Donohue advised him to take a full day off without swinging or running.

"It's a little strain or aggravation," Gardner said. "I actually feel a lot better today than I did last night after the game, so that's a very good thing."