Given a heavy workload, Eric Chavez is thriving

DETROIT -- The injury to Alex Rodriguez has forced Eric Chavez to play far more than Joe Girardi envisioned when the season started, but the veteran has handled it.

Both in his performance and, more significant considering his past, physically.

"I talk to him on a daily basis," Girardi said. "Yesterday [Wednesday], I thought about giving him a day off and he came in and said he was ready to go."

Chavez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in Wednesday night's 12-8 victory, giving him 12 hits in his last 26 at-bats.

He started at third Thursday afternoon and delivered again, going 2-for-4, including an opposite-field home run off Joaquin Benoit in the eighth to provide the winning margin in the Yankees' 4-3 win. He had been, he said, "terrible" to that point in his career against Benoit (3-for-15, four strikeouts).

"He left a changeup up and away and I just saw it out of his hand," said Chavez, who finished 9-for-16 with two homers in the series.

When Chavez came to the Yankees in 2011, he had played in a total of 64 games the previous three seasons because of various injuries. Last year he got off to a good start before fracturing a bone in his left foot May 5 while running out an RBI triple against the Tigers and missing 71 games.

"I feel good, but I have to be cautious about wanting to go out there and play more than I can," said Chavez, who likely will have much of the weekend off with Toronto starting three lefty starters. "But I'll do whatever he asks me to do. I'll just go until I break if I have to."

Tex still pluggingGirardi said he hasn't noticed any lingering issues for Mark Teixeira in his seven games since he missed two games (July 31 and Aug. 1) with left wrist inflammation. Teixeira went 1-for-4 Thursday, hitting the tying homer in the eighth one pitch before Chavez homered, and is 7-for-25 in the seven-game stretch.

"He's been good. I check with him every day, too," Girardi said. "To say that he's 100 percent, I'm sure there's other things that ache, it's that time of the year, but he says he's good."

Teixeira, who had been 0-for-6 against Benoit before lining a bullet down the rightfield line, said his approach against the righthander was simple. "I was trying to hit a home run there," he said. "I don't try to do it all the time, but I know against a guy like Benoit, he's not going to give up a lot of hits, so you try and get a good pitch to hit, and I got a 2-0 pitch to hit."

Extra basesBrian Cashman said Pedro Feliciano (shoulder surgery), will throw in his first rehab game today Friday for the GCL Yankees . . . Andruw Jones, with just four at-bats this month, will "get a lot" of work this weekend against Toronto's lefties, Girardi said.