It will go down as Mark Teixeira's first game-winning hit in a Yankees uniform, that lazy fly ball he hit to left field in the eighth inning on Tuesday night. And you know what? It felt pretty good.
"Sac flies aren't sexy," Teixeira said, "but they get the job done."
OK, maybe it won't be a moment encapsulated in the new Yankees museum set for opening in the Bronx. But symbolism aside, Teixeira's sacrifice fly off Rays left-hander J.P. Howell allowed the Yankees to exhale a little bit about their $180 million first baseman.
Teixeira had missed three games with tendinitis in his left wrist and Yankees manager Joe Girardi expressed some trepidation in sending Teixeira up to bat right-handed against Howell. But the job got done, offering hope that Teixeira may be past that blip.
"The good thing is that I had both left-handed and right-handed at-bats tonight and I can swing the bat, so that's a good thing," Teixeira said. "He's a tough pitcher. He has a lot of different pitches and kind of a funky motion. It was a battle to get the ball in the air there."
Teixeira's presence in the lineup -- already vital with the Yankees playing sans three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez -- could become even more important pending the results of Xavier Nady's MRI examination on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla.
Nady is scheduled to enter the tube at 8 a.m. ET to gather more information about his right elbow, which shot painfully when he returned a seventh-inning single to the infield on Tuesday evening.
As for Teixeira, he believes that he is out of the woods now, a feeling reinforced by that sacrifice fly to left.
"I've just got to fight through it and it will be fine," Teixeira said. "There's no damage in there. It's just like when you bang something, you get a bruise and you've got to give it a couple of days to get well."
Pitching matchup
NYY: LHP Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
The veteran left-hander fired seven strong innings in his season debut, pitching the Yankees past the Royals in a 4-1 victory on Friday at the newly remodeled Kauffman Stadium. Pettitte showed no ill effects from an extra day of rest following his final exhibition start on April 4 in New York, walking one and striking out six. He used all four of his pitches and relied more on his breaking balls when catcher Jorge Posada suggested his curveball see more use. Pettitte was 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in four starts last season vs. Tampa Bay and 15-4 with a 3.63 ERA in his career.
TB: RHP Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 9.64 ERA)
Sonnanstine got roughed up in his first outing of the season Friday at Baltimore, allowing five runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Sonnanstine can be a master of deception, employing an array of pitches thrown from all different angles. But he has learned to primarily use his fastball to set up the other pitches. Among those other pitches, Sonnanstine has added a changeup to his repertoire this spring, which he is fast gaining confidence in the more he masters it. The right-hander's mantra is to dispatch of hitters one way or the other in three pitches, which allows him to get deeper into the games and save the bullpen. Sonnanstine is 2-1 with a 6.08 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees; he is 8-9 with a 5.19 ERA in 25 career starts at Tropicana Field.
Tidbits
Nick Swisher has a team-high four home runs and has nine extra-base hits this season, raising his batting average to .458. ... Brett Gardner set a career high Tuesday with three runs scored. ... Derek Jeter hit his 208th career home run on Tuesday, tying Alex Rodriguez for 11th on the Yankees' all-time home run list. ... Due to inclement weather, A-Rod worked out at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday, hitting soft toss and fielding ground balls in the batting cages. Girardi said he was impressed with A-Rod's lateral movement. ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau, on Monday, Swisher became the first Yankee to homer and record a strikeout as a pitcher in the same game since Lindy McDaniel on Sept. 28, 1972, at Detroit.
Originally Posted by browntown653
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