"At some point you will probably get to where you will try and put out the same lineup every day," Girardi said. 

Girardi has a simple message for his outfielders.

"Just go out and play, that’s all you can do," Girardi said. "As we have seen there are so many things that can happen in this game that we might need to play all four of them."

Suzuki is hitting .241/.280/.333 in 141 at-bats this year. He'll be replaced by Curtis Granderson, who will bat sixth. Suzuki can return to the starting lineup Wednesday against Jason Hammel.

Suzuki went deep off Wade Davis for a two-run shot in the second inning. He added a double and scored three times. Suzuki is batting .282. 

With three multiple-hit games in May, Suzuki has gone 9 for 28 (.321) for the month over eight games. He's amassed the cycle over that span with a homer and a triple to go with five runs scored, three RBI and three stolen bases. 

Suzuki's value has come from getting frequent steals and infield hits. He has just a pair of steals to date, but Suzuki was streaky with steals last season, so a big burst in that category could still be in his future. As for infield hits, he has already notched seven of them, and he is batting .293 on ground balls. It's the flyball hits that have been more scarce for Suzuki, but over time, he could find the gaps more often.

His contact skills and speed aren't quite what they once were, but they're good enough that Suzuki could still rebound from an underwhelming first month of the season. 

Ichiro finished the month batting .333 (17 for 51) with a .382 on-base percentage in his last 14 games.

"To get him going was really important," manager Joe Girardi said, per The Star-Ledger. "It took a little while. But as I said, there’s always one or two guys that get off to a slow start. A lot of times, there’s no rhythm or reason. But it happens. And he’s swinging the bat good."