"Joe Girardi isn't ready to make any dramatic changes to his lineup right now, but the manager made it sound as if such a day might not be very far away.

Derek Jeter was in his customary leadoff spot Wednesday night against David Price and the Rays, while the red-hot Brett Gardner occupied the No. 9 position.

But with every game that Gardner continues to swing a scorching bat and Jeter struggles, the idea of moving the speedy Gardner into the leadoff spot becomes more attractive.

"He's going so well, it's something I'll definitely consider," Girardi said. "We'll just wait and see what happens."

Moving Gardner atop the lineup will be the easy part for Girardi. Figuring out where to slot Jeter? That would be a challenge.

Since his five-hit day on July 9 that included his 3,000th hit, Jeter was 5-for-26 (.192) over six games entering Wednesday night.

"He hasn't got a ton of hits," Girardi said. "He's had some good at-bats and he's gotten some hits. He had a big hit in Toronto for us, but collectively we haven't necessarily had a lot of this on this road trip. We've had a couple of big games, but we haven't had a ton."

Jeter entered Wednesday night hitting .264, with his .323 on-base percentage ranking seventh among Yankees regulars."