"Brett Gardner was in the leadoff spot for Thursday night's 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays , but Joe Girardi wasn't ready to make any such changes official beyond one game.

With Curtis Granderson out to rest his banged-up body, Girardi moved Gardner into the leadoff spot and dropped Derek Jeter into the No. 2 hole typically occupied by the center fielder.

Asked whether Gardner - who leads the Yankees with a .372 on-base percentage and went 1 for 4 Thursday night - would have been his leadoff man Thursday night even if Granderson had played, Girardi said he "could have" done that.

"The lineup's a big topic now," Girardi said, referring to the latest buzz over Jeter's place in the batting order. "I kind of had in my mind that Grandy would need a day off so I never really thought about it."

Having already fouled a ball off his right shin earlier in Wednesday night's game, Granderson took a David Price fastball off his upper back in the eighth inning. He also ran into the center-field wall while making a key catch.

Granderson had also fouled a ball off his left foot on Tuesday, so Girardi decided to give him the night off as the Yankees played their eighth straight game on artificial turf.

"He's just really beat up," Girardi said. "I talked to him about his foot, which was Tuesday night. His shin (Wednesday), which was the same spot he hit a couple of weeks ago. And then his back; probably the biggest concern right now is his back. I had it in my mind, because of what he went through the last couple of days, that I was going to give him a day.""