How Greg Bird has impressed Yankees and himself since returning

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird hit his first homer of the season on Monday, May 28, 2018 (5/28/18) batting against Astros ace Justin Verlander in a 5-1 loss to Houston.

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NEW YORK — Confidence oozes from Yankees first baseman Greg Bird.

You can feel it talking it to him.

It’s in his voice

It’s on his face.

Now that he’s back from his latest serious medical issue and his 2018 season finally has begun, Bird doesn’t just think he’s going to be an impact player.

In his mind, he knows it.

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Just back as of last weekend from March ankle surgery, Bird already is looking the part.

His Memorial Day performance was the silver liner in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Monday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Playing his third game in three days since rejoining the Yanks, Bird was 2 for 4 with a homer to right off Astros ace Justin Verlander and a line single to left against closer Ken Giles.

What did having success against Verlander do for Bird’s confidence?

Nothing.

It already was sky high.

“When I feel good like that, I’ll take my chances on anyone,” Bird said.

Bird was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts on Saturday, his first game back, then 1 for 3 with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch on Sunday before his Monday showing, which has his three-game average at .273.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone really liked what he’s seen from Bird.

“All three days … I thought he had a lot of good at-bats,” Boone said. “He’s controlling the zone. You can see a real comfort up there.

“The fact that he’s got some early results is nice, but what I’ve been pleased with is really all of his at-bats have been really competitive and you can tell he’s in a really good place.”

Bird definitely is in a good place.

His one-injury-after-another was incredibly frustrating to get through, but unlike a lot of Yankees fans, he’s never doubted that there would be a day he’d finally get healthy, stay healthy and then live up to his billing as a slugging left-handed bat who will become a star.

We’ve seen glimpses here and there … his 11 homers in 46 games after Bird got his first big-league callup in August 2015, his .451 average with eight homers in 23 spring games in 2017, his 15 RBIs in his final 14 regular-season games last season, his seventh-inning homer off Andrew Miller in Game 3 of the 2017 ALDS, a 1-0 Yankees win over Cleveland at Yankee Stadium.

But most of that was overshadowed by his injuries. He missed all of 2016 recovering from shoulder surgery, then a late-spring ankle injury last year led to a long DL stint and eventually surgery, then his bad spring this year led to another ankle surgery and almost two more months on the DL.

Now, finally, Bird is healthy, and with no pain in his ankle, we’re starting to see again what he can do with his pretty swing.

Facing Verlander, who is 7-2 with a 1.11 ERA in 12 starts after holding the Yankees to one run over 6 2/3 innings, Bird struck out in the second inning, grounded out hard to second in the fourth and homered to lead off the seventh to take a bite out of a 4-0 deficit.

Bird having some success so early into his return off Verlander was impressive … at least to everyone but himself.

“He’s got a great fastball and he knows how to use everything else,” Bird said. “Just having a good at-bat is the biggest thing.”

Bird already is having a lot of good at-bats, which is a very good sign for the Yankees.

“I’m just keeping it rolling,” he said. “I feel good at the plate and in the field with the timing and all that. It’s nice.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.