As the Yankees try to avoid their first three-game sweep of the season, here are some pregame notes:

ALEX STAYING PUT: Joe Girardi was asked about dropping Alex Rodriguez in the lineup considering his recent struggles. Girardi dismissed the idea, as you would expect.

“I know Alex is going to be fine,” Girardi said. “Maybe I lead him off one day so he can hit the home run in the first inning and get it over with. No, he’s our cleanup hitter and he’s going to be fine. He’s struggling a little bit but it’s not like all of our hitters have not gone through struggles.”

He pointed out that he did not move Mark Teixeira out of the No. 3 spot when he was slumping for the first few months of the season, and Teixeira is now one of the team’s hottest hitters.

SMALL STEPS FOR ANDY: Injured starter Andy Pettitte threw off a half-mound yesterday, and will throw a full bullpen session Friday as he tries to recover from his groin strain. Pettitte said he’s trying to stay patient.

“It’s tough,” he said. “I want to be back but I know that if I reinjure myself I’ll be out for the rest of the season.”

Pettitte said his leg feels good.

MORE MOSELEY: The Yankees starters for this weekend against the Red Sox are Javier Vazquez, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Dustin Moseley. Moseley had a rough inning last night but was good enough to get another start.

“He didn’t pitch maybe as bad as the numbers indicated,” Girardi said. “He gave up some key hits with two outs last night but he’s thrown the ball pretty good for us. He’s going to start again.”

THE LINEUPS

Blue Jays

45 Travis Snider LF

2 Aaron Hill 2B

19 Jose Bautista RF

10 Vernon Wells CF

26 Adam Lind DH

14 John Buck C

35 Lyle Overbay 1B

12 Edwin Encarnacion 3B

6 John McDonald SS

28 Shaun Marcum P

Yankees

2 Derek Jeter SS

33 Nick Swisher RF

25 Mark Teixeira 1B

13 Alex Rodriguez 3B

24 Robinson Cano 2B

20 Jorge Posada C

17 Lance Berkman DH

14 Curtis Granderson CF

11 Brett Gardner LF

65 Phil Hughes P

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