Mark Teixeira still sidelined with sore finger

Mark Teixeira didn't sound as if he would be returning anytime soon. "It's still really sore,'' he said Friday. "The tough part is gripping a bat, so that's obviously a little concerning.''

Teixeira, held out a second straight game, needed three stitches after suffering a cut on his left pinkie, which got caught on Tigers catcher Bryan Holaday's spikes when Teixeira slid home in the eighth inning of Wednesday night's 5-1 win over the Tigers. He took some swings off a tee in the batting cage but did not take batting practice.

"There's a big cut and then there's the bruising and the joint's probably sprained a little bit too,'' Teixeira said. "It's just sore. I'm not sure if it will get worse, but it definitely needs to get better . . . I can't really grip the bat right now.''

For a second straight game, Chase Headley filled in at first and Martin Prado took Headley's place at third.

Tanaka throws again

Masahiro Tanaka, who started playing catch Monday, played catch at 60 and 90 feet Friday, making 25 throws at each distance. Joe Girardi said Tanaka will throw at 90 feet Saturday and take Sunday off. He'll attempt to throw at 120 feet early next week and then, the Yankees hope, have a flat-ground session after that. "He said he felt good,'' Girardi said. At the earliest, the Yankees are hoping for a September return.

Mitchell promoted

Before the game, the Yankees recalled righthander Bryan Mitchell from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designated righthander Matt Daley for assignment. Mitchell was 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in five starts with Scranton since his promotion from Double-A Trenton.