Yankees waiting for offense to snap out of funk

It wasn't a withering dress-down of his offense, but for Joe Girardi, hardly ever critical of his players in front of the media, his comments after Sunday's loss to the Twins were attention-worthy.

"These are the guys we have," Girardi said after the 7-2 loss in which David Robertson blew his second save of the season. "And they have to find a way to get it done."

A night later they did not, scratching out two runs against Felix Hernandez but no more in a 10-2 loss to the Mariners.

"Don't face Felix," Derek Jeter said, only half-joking, afterward of what might bring the offense out of its funk.

The issues, of course, have gone much deeper than one game.

Monday was another game in which the Yankees didn't hit a home run. They've hit five in their last 15 games.

"We're not a club now that is hitting the ball out of the ballpark," Girardi said after Monday's game. "We're not hitting a lot of doubles, either, so you've really got to put a lot of singles together."

Entering last night's contest against the A's, the Yankees were tied with the Twins for 11th in the AL in runs scored (232) and were ninth in homers with 48. The A's came into Tuesday first in runs (296) and second in homers with 66 (Toronto led with 82).

Speaking before the game, which was delayed at the start because of rain, Girardi said getting Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira back will only help.

The news on both injured players was good with Beltran making it through another extended spring training game in Tampa without feeling the bone spur in his right elbow, and Teixeira in the lineup against Oakland after getting through batting practice without feeling pain in his right wrist.

"I think it's important that they do what they're capable of doing," Girardi said. "And we know they're extremely capable of being run producers and driving the ball, [hitting] doubles, home runs."

Teixeira entered the game leading the club in homers with nine and he was second in RBIs with 25. Beltran, who could return as soon as Friday, has five homers and 15 RBIs. "The one thing is you can't put too much on their plate and say, 'You have to carry us,' because it has to be consistency up and down the lineup," Girardi said. "But when you add those two guys, your lineup gets deeper and that helps as well."

The pair's return obviously won't hurt, but the Yankees need more, primarily from Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann.

Ellsbury cooled considerably after a standout April and entered Tuesday hitting .273 with a .342 on-base percentage. McCann was at .230 and .291. The catcher does have seven homers, third-most on the team, and 24 RBIs, also the third-highest total.

Though Girardi didn't mention either player by name, it was clear in which direction at least some of Sunday's frustration was directed.

"I think these guys [starting pitchers] have done a pretty decent job giving us a chance to win every day," Girardi said. "At times, runs have been tough for us. We do have some injuries, but you can't make excuses. We still need to find a way to get it done. We need to get some guys going who are expected to be big production guys."