OAKLAND — Brett Gardner is the new Robinson Cano.
And if that continues for a long stretch, the plucky Yankees will have to rely even more heavily on a pitching staff that has kept them close to the AL East lead.
“This is the best I have ever seen him swing on a consistent basis,’’ Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said of the leadoff man who brings a smoking bat into tonight’s first of three games against the A’s at the Coliseum. “He is barreling up everything. Lefties, righties, and he is hitting for power.’’
In the past 17 games, Gardner is hitting .365 with three homers and 11 RBIs.
The left-handed hitter was limited to 16 games last year due to a right elbow injury that required July surgery, and he hit .259 in 159 games in 2011, so Gardner faced questions of whether he could give the Yankees more this year. On May 24, Gardner was batting .254.
“People were looking at Gardner early and saying, ‘Is this where he needs to be?’ ” Long said. “Now you look at him and you say, ‘He’s locked in, and he’s ready to go.’ It took him not only spring training but a couple of months as well.’’
What is the reason for the streak that raised Gardner’s average to a team-leading .284 and featured a four-hit game Sunday, three of them against Felix Hernandez, in a 2-1 victory?
“He’s more aggressive this year,’’ Long said. “He has swung at a lot more first pitches. He is real good early in counts, and he is ready to hit the fastball.’’
Gardner said returning late last year and having a full spring training put him in position to hit, but lately he has been ridiculous.
“If I wasn’t able to come back at the end of last season it probably would have been different as far as this season,’’ Gardner explained.
While Gardner, the AL Player of the Week for hitting .520 (13-for-25), is sizzling, Cano is slumping and Mark Teixeira is attempting to find his way after missing the first two months of the season with a right wrist tendon injury.
Joe Girardi said Cano’s 3-for-28 (.107) slump isn’t causing him problems. Nor is his .272 average.
“I’m not going to worry about Robbie, he is the least of my worries,’’ Girardi said of the Yankees’ best hitter whom they need to get straightened out while Kevin Youkilis and Teixeira chip away the rust.
“He will get hot again. [The swing] has been a little long at times, and he is seeing a lot of lefties and that has factored into it,’’ Long said. “He has to let the ball travel a little bit longer against lefties. He has a little drift to his swing and that has become somewhat of a factor.’’
As for Teixeira, the legendary slow starter is hitting .167 (6-for-36) with three homers and eight RBIs in 10 games since returning from the DL May 31. Sunday he struck out four times.
“I am trying to take this as chunks of time, whether it’s a series or a week. It’s going to take me a while to get to where I am consistently producing,’’ Teixeira said. “You’re going to have a game here and a game there that are good, but you’re going to have plenty of bad days. The stronger my wrist gets and the more pitches I see and the more at-bats I get, I am hoping the results are better.’’
george.king@nypost.com
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