Girardi: Nunez can be productive bat for Yanks

BOSTON -- It has been a disappointing year thus far for Eduardo Nunez, who came into Spring Training locked in for a big opportunity as the Yankees' everyday shortstop with Derek Jeter unavailable due to injury.

Nunez then lost 56 games himself with an oblique strain, and when he has been in the lineup, he has struggled offensively. Owning just four hits in his last 18 at-bats entering play on Saturday, Nunez started his long climb back by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and a stolen base in the Yankees' 5-2 win over the Red Sox.

"I think I'm not a .200 hitter," said Nunez, who raised his batting average from .207 to .226 in the contest. "I work hard in the cage every day. I know it's going to be coming. I think I work hard every day to do that."

Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he believed Nunez was jumping at the ball too much, a problem he didn't seem to have once Saturday's action got underway.

"That's the thing about being a hitter. It can change real quickly," Girardi said. "You get to go out there the next day, where if you're a starting pitcher, sometimes you've got to wait five days. Nuney came up huge for us today."