McCann trying to fight through early-season slump

NEW YORK -- Brian McCann is the first to acknowledge that his first two months in a Yankees uniform did not measure up to expectations, particularly on the offensive side, but he is hoping that will change as the schedule charges into June.

The Yankees' first free-agent target in a busy winter, McCann struggled mightily in the early stages of his Bronx debut. His .672 OPS entering play on Sunday ranked as the lowest of the 13 big league catchers with 150 or more at-bats this season.

"I feel like I need to get more hits," McCann said. "I just feel like I've been finding the barrel consistently. It's just I need to start hitting a little better."

McCann was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Twins, and hopes that he is showing signs of improving a split line that reads .232/.288/.344 coming into play on Sunday.

"That's the game plan," McCann said. "Just got to continue putting the barrel on the ball. Eventually they'll start finding holes."

McCann has seven homers and 24 RBIs, but he has had many hits taken away by aggressive defensive shifting. Manager Joe Girardi said that he believes McCann has fit in well with the Yankees.

"I think he's handled it really well," Girardi said. "I think he's been able to put the day behind him and just move on to the next day. I think when you look at his numbers, I think he's hit the ball a lot harder than his numbers indicate and that can be extremely frustrating for a player, but I think he's handled that pretty well."