Mark Teixeira makes quick return from injury
The Yankees' Mark Teixeira homers against the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, June 21, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Mark Teixeira all but guaranteed he'd be in the lineup Monday, but as the Yankees have learned the last couple of years, when it comes to injuries, a player isn't back until he's back.
However, Teixeira was in the starting lineup at first base against the Blue Jays and homered in the fourth. He left Sunday's game after taking a pitch on the toes of his left foot.
"I checked when he got here, I waited to put up the lineup just to make sure his foot was all right," manager Joe Girardi said. "He said it felt pretty good, so that's encouraging."
After Sunday's game, Teixeira, who played the last month of the 2010 season with a broken left pinkie toe after getting hit by a pitch, said he breathed "a sigh of relief" when X-rays came back negative. Before he left the game, he spiked his batting helmet, thinking the worst.
"I've done it before and it's not fun," Teixeira said. "When you break your toe, it's not fun at all. I did it in 2010. I thought it was broken again, so I just took it out on my helmet."
Jeter takes a break
Derek Jeter got Monday night off, though he was available to pinch hit.
"I wasn't going to run him out there nine days in a row," Girardi said.
Jeter was 6-for-26 (.231) during the recent homestand.
CC you in Tampa
CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation) will head to Tampa Tuesday to continue his rehab. The lefthander will throw 35 pitches to hitters and should that go well, Girardi said he'll probably throw "a couple" of more such sessions before a determination is made on a next step.
Blue Jays hurting
The Blue Jays remain in first place, though they entered play having lost 11 of 15. The injury bug bit the club over the weekend as Brett Lawrie and Jose Bautista left Sunday's game against the Reds with injuries. Lawrie suffered a broken left index finger and was placed on the DL, and Bautista is day-to-day with what the Blue Jays said was a "mild" left hamstring strain.
"I've often said I believe that this division might be won by the team that handles the injuries the best," Girardi said. "It's not what you want as a manager but all of us have had to deal with it in this division and you just have to keep fighting."
