MLB fines Yankees' Brett Gardner for violating 'pace of play' rule

Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner was fined $2,000 for taking too long to get into the batter’s box.

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball fined Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner $2,000 for taking too long to get into the box.

MLB issued Gardner the fine in mid-June for repeatedly breaking one of the league’s “pace of play” rules repeatedly in April and May.

Gardner declined comment when asked about it.

The 34-year-old is in the final guaranteed year of a four-year, $52-million contract extension. The Yankees could opt to keep him for $12.5 million next year.

Gardner, in his 11th season, was hitting .251 with five homers and 21 RBI in 68 games going into Tuesday’s game against the Braves at home.

9 immediate issues facing the Yankees

A few things to know about Tuesday’s Yankees game, via the team’s media relations department:

THE GLEY-HEY KID: 2B Gleyber Torres collected a career-high 3H on Mon. vs. Atlanta, his 18th multi-hit game…has hit safely in all 4G on the homestand, batting .467 (7-for-15) with 4R, 1 double, 1 triple, 1HR, 4RBI and 2BB.

* Has hit safely in 45 of his first 61 Major League games, tied for third-most by a Yankee since 1908, behind Joe DiMaggio (51) and George Selkirk (48).

DELLIN DONUTS: RHP Dellin Betances allowed a leadoff single to Johan Camargo in the 10th inning on Monday, snapping his 0-for-29 streak against opposing batters (since Devon Travis’s single on 6/6 at Toronto)…also ended stretches of 1-for-45 (since 5/23) and 2-for-63 (since 5/10).

* Has still allowed just 2H with 26K in 15.2 scoreless innings (11BB, 2HP) over his last 16 appearances (since 5/27)…is his second-longest streak of scorelessappearances, behind an 18-game scoreless stretch from 7/8-8/19/15 (20.1IP).

ALL THAT’S LEFT: The Yankees will face a left-handed starter tonight for the fourth time in 5G on this homestand…are 8-1 in games vs. left-handed starting pitchers since 5/25…are a Major League-best 20-6 (.769) when they face a left-handed starter in 2018.

* Yankees batters are hitting .256/.340/.484 vs. lefthanders in 2018…their .824 OPS vs. southpaws leads the Majors, ahead of Atlanta (.809)…have an MLB-best 44HR and 17.95 AB/HR ratio against lefties.

SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN: The Yankees and Braves both entered this three-game series with the best records in their respective leagues…marks the Yankees’ second consecutive series against a team that entered with the best record in its league (Boston, MLB-best 55-27 record entering Friday).

* According to Elias, Monday’s game marked the third time since the advent of Interleague play in 1997 that the teams with the AL’s and NL’s best records met this late into the season (Kansas City at St. Louis, 1G on 7/23/15; and Arizona at Seattle, 3G from 7/15-17/01).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU: Today is the birthday of Yankees Senior Vice President, GM Brian Cashman.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.