Garcia's debut pushed back to April 15

Freddy Garcia's preference, as is the case with starting pitchers, is to take the mound every five days.

But the life of a fifth starter typically doesn't offer such consistency, which the righthander discovered again last night when the Yankees and Twins were rained out.

No makeup date has been announced, though the only common off dates for the teams are Sept. 8 and 15.

Garcia, who hasn't pitched in a game since starting the Yankees' spring training finale March 29, won't make his season debut until April 15 against the Rangers.

A.J. Burnett will take his scheduled start, on regular rest, this afternoon against the Twins.

"It's hard because Freddy's going to go a while before he gets a start, but you just have to work it out," Joe Girardi said. Garcia said he will pitch out of the bullpen in the meantime, and might throw to batters in some kind of simulated game Monday to stay sharp.

"It's disappointing but that's the way it goes," Garcia said.

A little rest

With the Yankees in the middle of an early-season stretch of nine straight games, all of them scheduled in the chilly Northeast, Girardi sat Derek Jeter and Russell Martin Wednesdayand had Alex Rodriguez at DH. All ended up with a day off because of the rainout, and with Twins lefty Francisco Liriano scheduled to start today, most of his regulars could be back.

Big donation

Mark Teixeira announced a $1-million donation to the East Harlem charity, Harlem RBI, which the first baseman has been involved with since 2010 when he joined its board of directors.