A-Rod, Swisher dinged up in loss to Tigers

With six weeks left in the regular season, the Yankees know they must find a balance between winning and staying healthy. Last night, they weren't able to achieve either.

Javier Vazquez struggled for his fourth straight start, but at least he didn't have to be removed because of an injury. Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher weren't as fortunate.

In the 3-1 loss to the Tigers, Rodriguez was pulled after his second at-bat because of a tight left calf, and Swisher later was removed because of tightness in his right forearm.

The Yankees, who fell back into a tie with the Rays for first place in the AL East, said no tests were scheduled on either player and called both day to day.

Despite being three men short - Lance Berkman also is out for a few days with a sprained ankle - the Yankees fought back in the ninth to give themselves a chance to win it.

Jose Valverde walked Brett Gardner to force in a run, bringing Derek Jeter to the plate with the winning run on first. But Jeter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, his second of the game, to end it.

The Yankees, losers of three of four, have scored one run in the last two games. They left nine on base last night and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Max Scherzer (8-9) and three relievers.

"We're not swinging the bats like we want to," Jeter said. "We need to find ways to score some runs."

And Tuesday night, they'll have to face Tigers ace Justin Verlander likely without Rodriguez, Swisher and Berkman, though Girardi refused to rule out A-Rod or Swisher until the trainers check them. Typically, though, the Yankees act cautiously with injuries, especially given the age and mileage on the players involved, especially Rodriguez.

Girardi said he did not know how Rodriguez hurt his calf, saying he learned of it when Rodriguez told him after flying out in the fourth. "I was a little bit shocked," Girardi said, "but you never know why things pop up. Sometimes they just pop up."

Rodriguez did not make himself available after the game.

Swisher referred to his injury as "wear and tear," describing it as a tennis elbow. He said he felt it on a swing and miss during a strikeout in the fourth and tried loosening it up in the outfield, to no avail. He said it bothers him only when he swings lefthanded and insisted he could play if it is up to him.

The injuries overshadowed another disappointing outing by Vazquez, who lasted only four innings because of his pitch count (106) despite allowing only two runs. He said his biggest problem was lack of control on his changeup, which is usually his out pitch.

He also struggled with his velocity again, sitting mostly around 86-88 mph with his fastball. Although Girardi downplayed that, Vazquez (9-9) said it's an issue for him. "When you locate your pitches, you can pitch at 88," he said. "I know that. But it's not something I'm used to."

The Tigers scored twice in the second inning. Carlos Guillen led off with a ground-rule double into the rightfield stands. Ryan Raburn followed by launching a hanging curve into the leftfield stands.

Miguel Cabrera added a solo home run off Joba Chamberlain in the ninth to make it 3-0.