By MIKE PUMA

Last updated: 7:01 am
July 3, 2008
Posted: 3:12 am
July 3, 2008

The combination of starting 32 consecutive games and a 0-for-19 slump made last night the right time for Melky Cabrera to take a rest, as far as manager Joe Girardi was concerned.

Cabrera's night off allowed Brett Gardner to play center field for the first time since his arrival from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the week. Gardner had started the previous two games in left field. The rookie got his first major league hit, drilling an RBI single as part of the Yankees' nine-run seventh inning in an 18-7 victory at the Stadium.

"It meant a lot," said Gardner, who received a standing ovation. "Heck, it took long enough, right? Three nights."

Girardi indicated Cabrera would return to center field tonight against the Red Sox.

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GM Brian Cashman didn't sound confident that Hideki Matsui (left knee) will be activated from the disabled list when he's eligible on Tuesday. The Yankees originally had hoped Matsui would begin taking batting practice today, but that will not happen.

"I'll start to ask the question of how far away he is when he starts to do functional stuff - hitting and running - but we're not at that point," Cashman said.

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Shelley Duncan's season could be finished, after he sustained a separated right shoulder while diving for a ball in the outfield Tuesday night for SWB.

"We're trying to get a feel for how significant [the injury] is," Cashman said. "That's a lengthy injury."

Duncan, who began the season on the major league roster, is batting .243 with seven homers and 27 RBIs for SWB.

mpuma@nypost.com