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NEW YORK — Greg Bird was rehabbing a right ankle injury for the first six meetings between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

He carried a .191 average and several frustrating at-bats into Friday’s series opener. Then he slugged two homers and possibly gave the Yankees something to think about with the first baseman’s playing time against left-handers Chris Sale and David Price and the final two games.

While Bird could get the game off http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/darius-slayton-jersey , his New York temmates will get a crack at solving Sale on Saturday night in the second game of three-game series against Boston at Yankee Stadium.

Bird posted his second career multi-homer game and the Yankees opened the series by hitting four homers in an 8-1 rout on Friday. After homering twice, Bird is batting 204 (19-for-93) in 29 games since coming off the disabled list.

“Perhaps, I think about that a little bit,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was really good to see Birdie impact the ball. I was happy for him and that’s something that can kind of jump-start him a little bit because what we believe he brings is that left-handed on-base, power guy in this ballpark.”

If Bird is in the lineup, he will be getting his first career at-bats against Sale. If Bird is not in the lineup, it could be Brandon Drury or Neil Walker at first base.

Regardless if Bird plays, the Yankees were glad to see him homer to left-center field and right-center field against Eduardo Rodriguez in the fifth and Justin Haley in the eighth.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Yankees right-fielder Aaron Judge said of Bird. “It takes a lot of time to kind of get in that groove.”

Sale is 7-4 with a 2.56 ERA this season but rolling of late.

He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts and in the last four starts has totaled 43 strikeouts in 28 innings while allowing a paltry .155 average.

Sale last pitched Sunday when he allowed four hits and struck out 13 in a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. Sale posted his second straight double-digit strikeout game, sixth this season and ended the outing by fanning Mike Zunino with a 100.5 mph fastball — the fastest pitch of his career.

This season as the Red Sox attempt to keep Sale fresh for the final months of the year, his velocity is steadily increasing. His average fastball was 92.5 in April, 95.6 in May and 97.0 this month.

“I think it’s just getting back into a little bit better rhythm,” Sale said of his increase in velocity. “I’ve been saying the same thing over the last three or four starts — it’s feeling good and getting into that tempo and getting back into a little bit better rhythm than I had been starting the year. I put a lot of work into it. I’m glad where we’re at.”

If Sale posts double-digit strikeouts Saturday, it will mark the fourth time he has at least 10 strikeouts in three straight games.

“A lot of people get caught up on strikeouts,” Sale said. “They’re nice Quinnen Williams Jersey , but at the end of the day your job is to pitch as deep into that game as you can and keep as few runs off the board (as possible).”

Sale enters the game with 153 strikeouts, two ahead of Houston’s Gerrit Cole for the league lead. He also is hoping to see his teammates produce a better offensive showing after losing for the second time in eight games.

The left-hander faced the Yankees on April 10 in a 14-1 win at Fenway Park. He is 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts) against the Yankees.

While Mookie Betts was 2-for-4 and had his 25th multi-hit game, J.D. Martinez was 0-for-4 and is now hitless in his last nine at-bats.

New York will counter with Sonny Gray, who is 5-5 with a 4.93 ERA.

Gray is 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his last five starts since lasting 3 2/3 innings in an 11-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on May 26. His last outing was last Saturday in Tampa Bay when he allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-0 loss.

Gray faced the Red Sox on April 12 in Boston when he allowed six runs and seven hits in a season-low three innings of a 6-3 loss. Since joining the Yankees, he is 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox. For his career, Gray is 1-5 with a 5.97 ERA in seven games against Boston.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Facing the final two games of a very bad season, the Arizona Cardinals are saying all the right things.No one is giving up, they say, the effort is still there.“We’ve just been decimated by injuries, and our guys are fighting their butts off,” rookie quarterback Josh Rosen said after Wednesday’s practice. “You can’t really pick your circumstance, so you’ve just got to do the best with what we’ve all got. We’re all working hard. … Effort and commitment, that’s not even close to being a question for this team. We’ve got a really good group of guys.”There were suggestions from outside the organization that Rosen, who had had a tough time operating behind the ever-changing cast of characters on the injury-plagued offensive line http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/jachai-polite-jersey , should sit the final two weeks of the season rather than take such a beating.Coach Steve Wilks adamantly said he was sticking with Rosen and the young quarterback balked at the idea of sitting out those last two games — Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Rams and the following week at Seattle.“I don’t really want to speak more on that because I want to play,” Rosen said. “I couldn’t make it any more clear. I would be very frustrated if they didn’t play me, but those are decisions above me. I’m glad, at least, from practice today, I’m playing. I’m very grateful for that. I would be very frustrated, but it’s out of my control.”Wilks benched Rosen in favor of backup Mike Glennon late in Sunday’s 40-14 blowout loss at Atlanta.Defensive lineman Corey Peters, in his ninth NFL season, said it’s a matter of pride now for the Cardinals.“This group of men, we really care about each other,” he said. “There’s a lot of pride in this room, so we’re not going to lay down for anybody.”If the Cardinals lose their final two games, their 3-13 record will match their worst since the franchise moved from St. Louis in 1988. It’s led to widespread speculation about whether Wilks will be let go after just one season as head coach.Wilks agreed with Rosen that the effort is still there, though. Both of them pointed to Larry Fitzgerald running over a would-be tackler after a catch late in the Atlanta loss.“Guys are still competing,” Wilks said. “You look at that last part of the game Chuma Edoga Jersey , regardless of the score on both sides, the defense getting an opportunity twice to get off the field, and the way the offense finished, particularly with Larry. Fifteen years (in the NFL), and the way that he performed in that last drive was outstanding. It’s just indicative of who we are and the character in that locker room.”Character hasn’t been enough for a team that has eight double-digit losses, four of them by 20 points or more. But Rosen said the team has done “a pretty good job” of rebounding from losses, even if it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard.“I know we’re not really bouncing off losses with resounding blowouts,” he said, “but I think we come back on Wednesdays like this and Monday reviewing the film, and guys still have energy. We’re still motivated and still working hard because with a lot of young guys on the team and so many rookies, guys are just excited to play in the NFL and are battling their butts off to keep a spot on the team.”The Cardinals are two-touchdown underdogs at home against the Rams.Notes: Arizona claimed WR Pharoh Cooper off waivers from the Rams. Cooper was a Pro Bowl selection as a kick return specialist last season. In addition to his kick and punt returns, Cooper has 25 career receptions for 190 yards over three seasons. … CB Patrick Peterson was Arizona’s only Pro Bowl selection. He’s made it each of his eight seasons in the NFL.