Gardner made his major league debut with the Mets on July 29, 1984, pitching a perfect ninth inning in the Mets\' 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. He appeared in thirty games for the Mets in 1984 and 1985, going 1-3 with a 6.03 earned run average.\n', '

On November 13, 1985, Gardner was traded to the Boston Red Sox along with John Christensen, Calvin Schiraldi and La Schelle Tarver for Bob Ojeda, Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer. He emerged as the team\'s closer in 1987, leading the BoSox with ten saves. On July 28, he made his first start since 1982 with the New York–Penn League Little Falls Mets.\n', '

During the off-season, Boston acquired Lee Smith to assume closing duties for 1988. After starting the season in the Red Sox\'s bullpen, Gardner was moved into the starting rotation on June 28. In his first start, Gardner gave up only one earned run in seven innings pitched to earn the win. Gardner won his first four decisions as a starter, and enjoyed career highs in wins (8), strikeouts (106), ERA (3.50) and innings pitched (149) for the season.\n', '

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