Teixeira breaks out with three hits

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Joe Girardi prophesized correctly.

"I have a feeling it's going to be tomorrow," Girardi said Friday, referring to when Mark Teixeira would record his first hit of the season.

Teixeira went 0-for-4 in Friday's 9-3 loss to put his season-opening slump at 0-for-16, then ran it to 0-for-17 yesterday. But that would be it, as he went on to pick up three hits, including an RBI double, in a 10-0 victory over the Rays.

The 0-for-17 start to a season is Teixeira's worst. He was 0-for-16 to begin his rookie season with the Rangers in 2003 before getting a hit off the A's Mark Mulder.

"It felt good," he said yesterday, then made a joke at his own expense. "During your career, you always aim for milestones, so I made sure I went 0-for-17 to have a personal best," he said. "After that, I wanted to make sure I got a few hits, so that was a good day."

Teixeira lined out softly to second in the first inning against Rays starter Wade Davis, who allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, and walked in the fourth. He ripped an RBI double down the rightfield line in the fifth and added singles in the eighth and ninth.

"It's great for Tex," Girardi said. "As I said, Tex knows he's a great hitter and he's put up big numbers every year. But it's still no fun to look up at that board and not have your first hit and you're in the fifth game. It's no fun as a player. I just had a feeling it was going to happen, and he swung the bat great today."

And played his customary standout defense, which helped CC Sabathia carry a no-hitter through 72/3 innings.

Teixeira's diving catch of Jason Bartlett's liner ended the sixth, but the first baseman was more impressed with Alex Rodriguez's diving, backhanded stop of B.J. Upton's hard grounder with two outs in the seventh. Both plays had him thinking a no-hitter was going to happen.

"Alex's play was incredible," said Teixeira, who scooped A-Rod's low throw to help preserve the no-hitter. "I mean, that was one of the best plays you'll see all year, and so when you make a few plays like that and the way that CC was throwing the ball, you thought it could happen."

Teixeira said he's had a couple of other times in his career when he thought he might be a part of history.

"Every time I've ever been close, I get real excited and start thinking about how we're going to celebrate," he said. "It wasn't meant to be today, but CC just pitched great."

And for the first time this season at the plate, the same adjective could be applied to Teixeira.