Granderson focused on finding timing at plate

NEW YORK -- Curtis Granderson can't mirror the time he missed during Spring Training and the first four months of the regular season, so he knows it's going to take a while for him to get his timing back at the plate.

But if Monday night is any indication, he's close. The outfielder's seventh-inning home run against the Angels proved to be the decisive run in the Yankees' 2-1 victory.

"My timing is the main thing right now," Granderson said. "I just got to continue to work with different things -- deliveries to the plate, just realizing the rhythm the pitchers are getting into. It's just something that happens over time."

A broken arm suffered in Spring Training and a broken pinkie sustained in May have kept Granderson out of all but 18 games this season, perhaps contributing to his struggles at the plate.

Granderson has just 14 hits in 59 at-bats entering Tuesday and has struggled since coming off the disabled list for the second time on Aug. 2, batting just .226 with two home runs and four RBIs over 10 games.

Monday's home run was his third of the season, and it came against a pitcher -- Angels starter Garrett Richards -- whom Granderson is now 4-for-6 against with three home runs in his career.

"I think as a hitter, he knows when he's starting to get right. It's a feeling you feel when you're seeing the ball better," manager Joe Girardi said. "Curtis was able to hit that home run -- it's a feeling that a hitter gets, and you can't always notice it."

The free agent to be said he has been taking extra swings with hitting coach Kevin Long and will continue to do so until he feels like he gets his timing back.

"You only can control what you can, and I understand that there aren't many games left," Granderson said. "But I can get out there and hit a little more. I can get in the batting cage, go out on the field a little early both at home and on the road, and that's what Kevin Long and myself have been continuing to do."