Yankees’ Joey Gallo on benching: ‘not playing well enough’

DETROIT — Joey Gallo found himself on the bench Wednesday night for the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Tigers, and he wasn’t surprised.

“I’m not playing well enough to be in the starting lineup every day,’’ Gallo said. “I understand that.”

Gallo entered Wednesday just 1-for-20 with two walks and 10 strikeouts in his previous seven games. He came on as a defensive sub in left field for Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth, but did not get an at-bat.

On the season, Gallo is 4-for-33 (.121) with zero extra-base hits and was coming off a game against the Tigers in which he struck out in all four at-bats. He is still looking for his first extra-base hit, and only the Royals’ Carlos Santana has a lower slugging percentage than Gallo’s .121.

Manager Aaron Boone said he made the decision because he thought Gallo was “pressing” on Tuesday. Boone said he expects Gallo to be back in the starting lineup Thursday afternoon for the series finale.

“I know I haven’t been getting great results right now,’’ Gallo said. “It’s part of the process of playing a full season. … Sometimes you try to chase results, and that can get in the way. I just have to slow it down again and get back to basics: see the ball, hit the ball and hope it lands for a hit and not try to chase those hits.”

Gallo pointed to times during his career when he has not been aggressive enough at the plate.

“I still trust he’s gonna be good for us,’’ Boone said. “I have a ton of confidence in what he can and will do for us.”

Though they’ve pointed to Gallo’s advanced metrics, the actual results have been so abysmal since the left fielder arrived from Texas last July that they’re impossible to ignore.As for the Yankees hope Gallo would be more comfortable in the spotlight now that he has had time to adjust, but that just hasn’t happened.