Teixeira Returns - Hits HR

[Giantmetfan07]

So goes the journey of these 2014 Yankees that, on a night that offered a big-picture glimpse of encouragement, they nevertheless fell short once again.
 
Mark Teixeira’s two RBIs Tuesday night, in his first game back from a cortisone shot to heal his ailing right wrist, were neutralized by the four runs surrendered by the Yankees’ formerly reliable bullpen.
 
Throw in a run that Yankees starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda gave up, and you have a 10-inning, 5-2 loss to Oakland, the Yankees’ third straight and fourth in five games on this homestand.
 
“You’ve just got to keep running them out there,” manager Joe Girardi said of his position players, who have totaled 10 runs in these last five games. “And they’ve got to get the job done. That’s the bottom line.”
 
The travails of Teixeira and fellow injured switch-hitter Carlos Beltran (right elbow) has stirred up much consternation among the Yankees and their fan base, with the club at least discussing internally the wisdom of going after Morales, the free-agent first baseman/designated hitter who will likely sign with a team once the amateur draft begins on Thursday.
 
So it served as quite meaningful that Teixeira, who had seemed quite anxious about the pain in his surgically repaired wrist, felt good enough to launch a tie-breaking, sixth-inning home run to left field — his team-leading 10th — off Oakland starter (and former Mets wunderkind) Scott Kazmir. Teixeira also drove in the Yankees’ first run on a first-inning pop fly to No Man’s Land in right field, bringing home Brett Gardner from second base.
 
That of course means that no other Yankee drove in a run. And a fine outing by Hiroki Kuroda (one run in 6 ²/₃ innings against the dangerous Athletics) went to waste when stud rookie Dellin Betances surrendered the tying run in the eighth and sophomore Adam Warren got rocked for three runs in the 10th.
 
Girardi penciled Teixeira into his starting lineup with the understanding that Teixeira’s batting practice would deliver the final verdict. And to watch Teixeira take batting practice was hardly to take in a resurgent hitter. Instead, Teixeira looked tentative from both sides of the plate, and when his teammates took their turn, he fiddled with his right hand, as if gauging the pain level.
 
Nevertheless, “He said he was fine. I asked him,” Girardi said. “He said he felt good. Kind of keep your fingers crossed and hope he feels good tomorrow.”
 
Teixeira stayed on the lineup card and in the game and finished 2-for-5 — 2-for-4 right-handed and 0-for-1 lefty — and if this hardly takes him out of the woods, it’s a start. Teixeira didn’t speak to reporters after the game.
 

 

 

 

[Thomas-Panda-Saxby]

Like I said. Juggernaut