Thumb again keeps A-Rod out of lineup

The latest comeback for Alex Rodriguez will have to wait at least until Saturday. He took batting practice on the Yankee Stadium field Friday afternoon but was kept on the bench for the first pitch Friday night, resting his sprained left thumb.

Before the Yankees played the Blue Jays, he said the thumb felt better during the past two days and that the cortisone shot he received Tuesday seems to have helped. Still, he was not given the green light. And he said he likely will have to live with the pain for the rest of the season. "We're just going to take at least one more day," he said. "This is probably the most conservative approach we've taken. I think we realize that the next two months are the most important ones and once we see the green light, we just don't want to come back and have any more setbacks."

His absence meant the Yankees were without both of their power-hitting corner infielders. Mark Teixeira did not play Friday and is not expected to play Saturday because of the right knee bruise he suffered when he was hit by a pitch Thursday night. Teixeira said that despite having treatment all day, "It's not that much better today.''

He did not see this as a crisis, or even a repeat of a spate of injuries in September 2010. "This happens all year long. I look at Russell [Martin]. Russell's battled that thumb for a while. He wore a thumb guard and I think that will help him get rid of this," Joe Girardi said. "Tex, last year he had a broken toe and a hand that he kept diving on . . . You always worry about what can happen, but these are pretty much the everyday stuff we deal with."

Rodriguez will wear padding on his thumb when he does return, adding that there is no way of telling how it will affect his swing. "It's just a matter of me playing through the pain," he said. "The one thing I don't want to do is go out and re-hurt it by trying to do too much . . . Guys are stepping up all over the place, having big games. Hopefully, I can join the party."

He said he has been assured he will not have to worry about reinjuring it "unless there's a freak injury, like if there's a dive or something like that." Which is how he hurt the thumb in the first place, in his first game back after knee surgery.

Notes & quotes:David Robertson was unavailable Friday night after throwing 25 pitches Thursday, Girardi said, adding, "He was a little sore today.'' Rafael Soriano -- who combined with Robertson and Mariano Rivera to throw 74 pitches in the final three innings Thursday -- pitched a scoreless eighth . . . Girardi liked Jesus Montero's poise in Boston on Thursday night and said the rookie will get some time at DH against both righthanders and lefthanders. "He seemed to settle down nicely. To be able to do that in that situation says something about him, probably that he has a lot of confidence in his ability, and he was able to relax a little bit. We want to see what this kid can do.'' . . . CC Sabathia will start Sunday and Freddy Garcia will pitch Monday, Girardi said.