Raul Ibañez OK after "totally freak'' injury

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- While David Robertson and Mark Teixeira figuratively fought over which of the two was to blame for Monday night's 4-3 loss to the Rays, Raul Ibañez looked as if he'd been in an actual brawl.

He arrived in St. Petersburg at about 6 p.m., having seen an oral surgeon and a neurologist in a 24-hour stretch.

The reason was what he called the "totally freak" injury he suffered Sunday when he suddenly jerked his head trying to avoid a foul ball hit into the Yankees' dugout and ended up slamming his mouth into a piece of metal.

The force of the blow ended up driving pieces of a tooth -- "they found three pieces," he said -- into his lower lip, requiring eight stitches.

The visit to the neurologist was to establish that he didn't suffer a concussion. He did not.

The 40-year-old Ibañez was called on to pinch hit in the ninth inning and grounded out sharply to first.