Results tagged ‘ Casey McGehee ’
Yanks hope for boost from A-Rod
It is admittedly hard to stay optimistic about the Yankees after this past homestand in which they lost four of six games and had their lead in the American League East dwindle to two games over the Orioles, who were 8-3 winners Sunday and have beaten the Yankees six times in nine games this year at Yankee Stadium.
Baltimore certainly did not look like a team that will fade this month. Granted, the Orioles did hand the Yankees Saturday’s game, but they came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 Sunday on the strength of two home runs by Mark Reynolds for four of the five runs that Phil Hughes gave up over five-plus innings.
The long ball has plagued Hughes all season, although Sunday was the first time in seven starts that he gave up more than one. Hughes has been taken deep 32 times this season.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wore out a path from the dugout to the mound as he used eight pitchers in the game, including five in the eighth inning alone when the Orioles pulled away. Get used to this. With rosters expanded in September, managers have many more pitching options.
At issue for the Yankees has been a somewhat stagnant offense. They scored 22 runs during the homestand, which was an average of less than four runs (3.7) per game. After Mark Teixeira was sidelined because of a left calf strain, the Yankees’ cleanup hitters were Steve Pearce, Andruw Jones, Curtis Granderson and Eric Chavez. Granderson also got hurt (right hamstring tendinitis) and did not play Sunday.
In Granderson’s place was the lone bright spot for the Yankees Sunday. September callup Chris Dickerson hit a two-run home run, walked, scored two runs and made a sensational catch to rob Adam Jones of a potential home run in the seventh inning.
The Yankees are 2-4 after the first portion of a 22-game stretch against divisional foes, and they embark on their longest trip of the year, a 10-game, 11-day trek to St. Petersburg, Fla., Baltimore and Boston that starts with a Labor Day matinee game at Tropicana Field where the Yanks have lost five of six games this season.
Teixeira and Granderson may be kept off the Trop’s artificial surface, but Girardi said he was planning on getting Alex Rodriguez back into the lineup, although the manager did not specify third base or designated hitter. The main position for A-Rod with Girardi is hitter. The Yankees could use a lineup boost.
In the 36 games Rodriguez spent on the disabled list, his replacements at third base (Chavez, Jayson Nix and Casey McGehee) combined to bat .303 with six doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI and a .508 slugging percentage in 132 at-bats. Not bad. However, over the past 16 games, Yankees third basemen hit .193 with one extra-base hit, a double, and one RBI in 57 at-bats. Not good.
The Yankees played .500 ball (18-18) in Rodriguez’s absence. They are going to have to do better to fight off the challenge of the Orioles and the Rays, who are 3 ½ games out.
New man is Yanks’ new cleanup hitter
The Yankees did not waste any time integrating Steve Pearce into the framework. Pearce, who was acquired from the Astros for cash considerations Monday, arrived at Yankee Stadium late Tuesday afternoon and discovered he was batting cleanup in his first game for them.
It may seem a strange spot for a .237 career hitter in part of six major-league seasons, but the Yankees are pretty beaten up these days and are lacking in right-handed hitting with third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list and switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira expected to be sidelined the rest of the homestand while nursing a strained left calf muscle.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi noted that Pearce has a reputation for hitting left-handed pitching. Toronto started lefty Ricky Romero Tuesday night. Pearce took the roster spot of Casey McGehee, who hit .186 in 13 games and 43 at-bats for the Yankees since his trade from Pittsburgh July 31 for pitcher Chad Qualls. McGehee, who was optioned to Class A Charleston, had two hits in his past 24 at-bats (.083).
Teixeira said he felt just as sore Tuesday as he did Monday night when he hurt the calf breaking out of the batter’s box in his first-inning at-bat and aggravating it scoring from second base in the fourth inning on a single by Russell Martin. Tex said he hoped to be sidelined for only a week. A similar injury shut Derek Jeter down for the full 15-day DL period last year.
“I don’t think my injury is as severe as Derek’s was,” Teixeira said. “I don’t expect to be out as long.”
The Yankees decided to gamble on not disabling Teixeira by playing a man short until Saturday when rosters can expand beyond 25 players. With Thursday an open date, it means the Yankees will be in that situation for only three games. Of course, it someone else gets hurt, a roster move would likely be made.
One piece of good news is that Rodriguez took a regular session of batting practice to test his left hand, which sustained a broken bone when he was hit by a pitch July 24 at Seattle. “I am hoping to come back as quick as possible,” A-Rod said.
Jeter’s 4-hit game lone bright spot in loss to Chisox
With each game it seems Derek Jeter reaches another milestone. He hit a pair of them in the first inning alone Monday night at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field in a four-hit game that was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing game for the Yankees. They blew leads of 3-0 and 6-5 with the White Sox using four home runs to construct a 9-6 victory as the Yanks’ lead in the American League East fell to four games over Tampa Bay.
Jeter led off the game with a single, which he does a lot. DJ is hitting .391 in 110 at-bats leading off games in 2012 and .355 in 872 at-bats for his career. The hit was career No. 3,252 for Jeter, who tied Nap Lajoie for 12th place on the all-time list. Jeter eventually scored on a two-out single by Mark Teixeira. That was career run No. 1,844 for Jeter as he tied Craig Biggio for 13th place on that all-time list.
It did not take Jeter long to break the tie with Lajoie with an infield single in the third for his 3,253rd career hit which left him only two behind No. 11 Eddie Murray. The Captain still has a way to go to catch the 12th-place guy in runs, Mel Ott, at 1,859.
Teixeira returned to the lineup after sitting out the weekend series at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox to nurse a sore left wrist. Curtis Granderson singled in a run in the second as the Yanks took a 3-0 lead against White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who was surrounded by base runners in his brief time on the mound.
Considering that Floyd allowed five hits, four walks and a hit batter, the Yankees should have done better than to just knock him out of the game one out into the third inning, but they stranded eight runners over the first five innings against Floyd and left-handed reliever Hector Santiago.
Freddy Garcia was cruising along until he hit a wall with one out in the fifth. After getting his eighth strikeout for the first out of the inning, Garcia put the next five batters on base. DeWayne Wise started Chicago’s comeback with a two-run home run off his former teammate. Wise had been a valuable utility outfielder for the Yankees before he was designated for assignment last month to create roster space for Ichiro Suzuki, who was acquired from the Mariners.
Garcia was replaced after loading the bases on a single and two walks. Manager Joe Girardi went to his bullpen using Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada and Joba Chamberlain, but after a force play and two singles the White Sox had taken a 5-3 lead.
Jeter led the Yankees’ comeback with a home run, his 11th, leading off the sixth, crawling one hit behind Murray. It was also Jeter’s 251st home run, which pushed him past Graig Nettles into ninth place on the franchise list. Ironically, it came on Nettles’ 68th birthday. The Yankees added two more runs on singles by Teixeira and pinch hitter Casey McGehee.
Chamberlain’s continuing troubles cost the Yankees the lead in the bottom of the sixth. He had given up a run-scoring single the previous inning and was taken deep by Gordon Beckham that tied the score again. Opposing hitters are batting .455 against Chamberlain, whose ERA swelled to 9.45.
Other relievers had problems, too. Boone Logan was touched for a two-run home run by Alexei Ramirez in the seventh inning and Derek Lowe yielded a solo shot to Adam Dunn in the eighth.
Jeter got even with Murray in lifetime hits when he doubled with two out in the seventh for his fourth hit of the game and 3,255th of his career. Cap leads the majors in hits with 167, five more than he had all of last year, and ranks third in the majors with 51 multi-hit games, six more than his 2011 total.
Bullpen breakdown prevents Yanks’ sweep
The string of strong starts for the Yankees against the Rangers in the four-game series ended Thursday as Ivan Nova struggled over 5 2/3 innings and left the game trailing, 4-0. Nova had stopped a five-game winless streak in his previous start, but he was not as sharp this time out.
Yet it was the bullpen that was at greater fault for the Yankees’ failure to complete a four-game sweep as Texas saved face with a 10-6 victory. Nevertheless, taking three of four games pushed the Yankees over the Rangers for the best record in the American League and served notice on Texas that a third consecutive trip to the World Series has a treacherous pathway through New York.
The Yanks’ pen will have to do better than it showed Thursday, however. The Yankees overcame the deficit Nova created and actually took the lead before Cody Eppley, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain let it get away. The Rangers struck for eight runs over the last four innings against four relievers.
Chamberlain had the roughest outing. He allowed two earned runs, four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Cut him some slack because Chamberlain is coming back from Tommy John shoulder surgery and an injured ankle. The rust shows. Opponents are batting .448 against Joba, whose ERA is 9.00.
Nova’s most impressive inning was the third when he worked himself in and out of trouble. He loaded the bases on a double by rookie Mike Olt and walks to Elvis Andrus and Michael Young, not a smart thing to do with Josh Hamilton coming up. But Nova struck out Hamilton on three pitches, the last a mean curve in the dirt, got Adrian Beltre to ground into a fielder’s choice with third baseman Casey McGehee getting a force at the plate and struck out David Murphy.
The Rangers had gotten to Nova early. A single by Young, a double by Hamilton and a single by Beltre gave Texas a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Nova faced another bases-loaded situation in the sixth but did not escape this time.
The Texas rally began with one of those dreaded fly balls to left field at Yankee Stadium during day games. Andruw Jones lost sight of Hamilton’s drive in the blazing sun, and the ball fell for a leadoff double. Nova worsened matters by hitting Beltre with a pitch. A single by Murphy scored a run, and after a sacrifice and an intentional walk the bags were full.
Nova got an out on a force play at third base but a run scored. When he walked Olt, the 9-hole hitter, to load the bases again, manager Joe Girardi made the move to Cody Eppley, who retired Andrus on a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
The Yankees got Nova off the hook, however, as they batted around in the bottom of the sixth in putting up a 5-spot to take the lead. Rangers lefthander Derek Holland entered the inning with a one-hit shutout working but he could not survive the onslaught that befell him. As many rallies do, it began somewhat quietly on an infield single by Ichiro Suzuki, who advanced to second on an infield out.
Derek Jeter got the Yanks on the board with a single to center, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Jeet took second on the throw to the plate and was able to score on a single to center by Nick Swisher, who got his ninth RBI of the series. After Mark Teixeira struck out, Jones atoned for his misplay at the top of the inning by driving a first-pitch slider down the left field line for a two-run home run that tied the score.
McGehee also hit the ball hard to right-center, but it looked like the third out until Olt, playing right field, dropped the ball for a two-base error. Russell Martin abruptly greeted reliever Tanner Scheppers with a single to center that scored McGehee to put the Yanks ahead.
Too bad it did not last very long.
Well, now, isn’t that grand?
The Yankees have had a grand old time this year hitting grand slams. They lead the major leagues in home runs with the bases loaded with nine, which is one shy of the franchise record established in 1987 and equaled in 2010 and ’11. The Yanks have led the majors in grand slams in each of the previous two seasons and have combined for a big-league high of 29 over the past three seasons. That is more than double the next best teams; the Red Sox, Marlins, Cardinals and Rays have 13 apiece.
Nick Swisher’s salami Monday night was his second this year as he joined Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson with multiple slams. The Elias Sports Bureau reports that this is the second time in franchise history that three different players have had multiple grand slams. The other year was 2010 when Alex Rodriguez had three and Cano and Jorge Posada two each.
Rodriguez is on the disabled list because of a fractured bone in his left hand. His teammates have picked up the slack in his absence. Eric Chavez, Jayson Nix and Casey McGehee have combined as third basemen in A-Rod’s time away to bat .375 with seven home runs in 64 at-bats.
The Yankees have seven players on the roster with at least 200 career home runs (Rodriguez, Swisher, Chavez, Andruw Jones, Mark Teixeira, Raul Ibanez and Derek Jeter). According to Elias, the only other team in major league history with as many 200-homer men on the same roster was the Yankees’ 2008 team with Posada, Jeter, Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Ivan Rodriguez and Richie Sexson. The Yankees can break the mark this year if Granderson gets three more home runs. The center fielder has 30 this season and 197 for his career.
Stats LLC pointed out that the two pickoffs by David Phelps in Monday night’s victory over Texas were a first for a Yankees righthander in one game since Scott Kamieniecki June 18, 1991 at Toronto.
Yanks lose some ground on 4-3 trip
CC Sabathia’s absence has already been felt by the Yankees. With David Phelps needed to take Sabathia’s turn in the rotation Monday night when the Yankees open a four-game set against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium, the righthander could not be called on for long relief duty Sunday at Toronto.
Phil Hughes had his second straight horrid outing in giving up seven runs and nine hits in four innings. Ryota Igarashi, recalled from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to help in the bullpen, threw gas on the fire with a three-run fifth inning as the Blue Jays widened their lead to 10-1. The Yankees cut it to 10-7 with three runs apiece in the sixth and seventh, but they could not get any closer in dropping the finale to finish the Great Lakes trip to Detroit and Toronto at 4-3.
That is not bad considering the Yankees lost the first two games of the trek in Motown. Frankly, however, Sunday’s loss was a bit embarrassing. Edwin Encarnacion, who clocked his 30th home run, was the only player in the Jays lineup who was in Toronto’s opening day batting order. The Jays were without Jose Bautista, Colby Rasmus, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, J.P. Arencibia, Brett Lawrie and Adam Lind yet still managed to scorch the Yankees for 14 hits in ending a six-game losing streak and halting the Bombers’ four-game winning streak.
Despite the winning record on the trip, the Yankees lost 1 ½ games in the American League East standings over the past week. Their lead in the division is down to five games over second-place Tampa Bay, which has won six games in a row, and 5 ½ over third-place Baltimore.
Encarnacion and Moises Sierra had three hits apiece, but the guy who broke the Yankees’ back was left fielder Rajai Davis, who drove in five runs with two doubles and stole a run with a sensational, over-the-wall catch of a potential home run by Casey McGehee in the seventh inning.
The Yankees had only one hit over the first four innings against Jays starter J.A. Happ and were nine runs behind before their bats started to make some noise. Doubles by Andruw Jones and McGehee got the Yankees on the board in the fifth. The next inning, Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter homered to account for three runs. Doubles by Jayson Nix and Jeter and a single by Nick Swisher netted the Yanks three more runs in the seventh.
Jeter’s home run was his ninth of the season and first in 73 at-bats since July 25. It was a strong trip for the Captain, who batted .382 with two doubles, one home run, four RBI and five runs in 34 at-bats and is now hitting .318, the highest his average has been since June 15 when it was at .321.
Unforruntately, Hughes put them in a big hole and Igarashi further buried them. It was a poor trip for Hughes, who also failed to go five innings in his previous start Aug. 7 at Detroit. In his two starts on the trip, both losses, Hughes allowed 11 earned runs and 17 hits in 8 1/3 innings as his ERA grew from 3.96 to 4.44.
The starters need to step it up over the next two weeks while Sabathia recovers from left elbow soreness. One outstanding quality the Yankees have shown this season has been to overcome injuries – outfielders Raul Ibanez and Jones for Brett Gardner, closer Rafael Soriano for Mariano Rivera, reliever Cody Eppley for Joba Chamberlain, starting pitcher Freddy Garcia for Andy Pettitte, and third basemen Eric Chavez, McGehee and Nix for Alex Rodriguez. The starters did a good job the previous time CC was disabled, and they need to do so again.
Jeter earns hits distinction with Aaron
All season long Derek Jeter has marched past Hall of Famers on the all-time hits and runs lists. Saturday was one of those days. In the Yankees’ 5-2 victory over the Blue Jays, Jeter singled and doubled. The two hits raised his total for the season to 150, second highest in the major leagues only to former teammate Melky Cabrera, who has 154 for the Giants.
It marked the 17th consecutive season that Jeter has had at least 150 hits. So what is the big deal about that? Well, the Elias Sports Bureau, which keeps all the game’s numbers, reports that only one other player in history had 17 straight years of 150 or more hits, and that player was Henry Aaron, from 1955-71 for the Braves.
The record-tying hit was a two-out, run-scoring double to right-center in the sixth inning off former teammate Aaron Laffey that scored Casey McGehee, who had doubled with one out. It was McGehee’s first big day for the Yankees since his arrival from Pittsburgh 10 days ago in a trade for relief pitcher Chad Qualls. McGehee also got his first home run for the Yankees with a three-run blast to left in the fourth inning.
Like most new guys who come to the Yankees, McGehee has learned to appreciate Jeter even more as a player now that he is a teammate. “The approach he takes never wavers,” McGehee said of the Captain. “It’s a pleasure to play alongside him.”
Jeter, who is batting .315 overall, ranks third in the majors with 46 multi-hit games, one more than his total from all of last year. He is batting .379 with four home runs in 103 at-bats leading off games and .364 in 140 at-bats against left-handed pitching. His .345 batting average on the road in 249 at-bats is second in the American League only to Angels rookie Mike Trout (.348).
The most positive aspect of the Yankees’ fourth straight victory Saturday was the work of Ivan Nova, who pitched one out into the eighth inning and allowed two earned runs, five hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. He was a bit erratic with two hit batters and a balk, but it was an outing that gave the Yankees some encouragement at a time when it is needed since CC Sabathia had to be placed on the 15-day disabled because of soreness in his left elbow.
Nova displayed effective curves and sliders consistently, which had been missing from his recent starts. His record went to 11-6 with the victory, his first after five winless outings and his second over his past 10 starts.
It was a strong game all around for the Yankees. Second baseman Robinson Cano made a splendid play to rob Moises Sierra of a potential run-scoring hit to end the sixth inning, and center fielder Curtis Granderson concluded the seventh with a back-to-the-infield, one-handed grab of a long drive by Adeiny Hecchavarria.
The Toronto bullpen held the Yankees hitless over the final 3 1/3 innings, but the Yanks’ pen was equally efficient. David Robertson got two outs with his only pitch in getting Omar Vizquel on a double play in the eighth. Rafael Soriano earned his 28th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
So after losing the first two games in Detroit, the Yankees have a chance to close out this Great Lakes trip at 5-2 Sunday with Phil Hughes going against the Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ for some momentum heading into a challenging homestand upcoming against Texas and Boston.
Sabathia had been scheduled to start Monday night against the Rangers, but inflammation in his pitching elbow caused him to be shut down. It is the second stint on the DL for Sabathia, whose previous injury was to his left groin. CC felt stiffness after his start Wednesday night against the Tigers when he came out of the game in the seventh inning.
Yanks respond big-time to lineup shakeup
A restructured lineup produced immediate dividends Wednesday night for Yankees manager Joe Girardi. The experiment to use Curtis Granderson in the leadoff spot did not work out that well, so Girardi returned Derek Jeter to the top spot and moved Granderson down to the 6-hole in an effort to get him some RBI opportunities.
The change of scenery worked out splendidly for Granderson, who drove in four runs in his first two at-bats. He followed a run-scoring single in the first inning by Eric Chavez with one of his own and belted his 30th home run, a three-run shot, in the third. Granderson also doubled and scored in the seventh on a 3-for-5, 4-RBI night.
The rest of the lineup came through as well as the Yankees banged out 18 hits in a 12-8 victory over the Tigers to end Detroit’s six-game winning streak and a 10-gamer at Comerica Park, the team’s longest home streak in 63 years. All 10 players who got into the game for the Yankees had hits, and six had multi hits with Granderson and Robinson Cano getting three apiece.
In the previous five games in the leadoff spot, Granderson had only two singles and struck out six times in 20 at-bats. Overall, he has hit .121 in 33 at-bats as a leadoff hitter this year. The center fielder was also fighting a second-half slump. He entered play Wednesday night batting .213 with six home runs and 14 RBI in 23 games and 95 at-bats since the All-Star break with his season batting average plummeting to .240.
Girardi’s move took some pressure off Granderson, who looked more like himself Wednesday night. Most of his production has come in the 2-hole where he has 25 of his home runs and 52 of his RBI, but the 6-hole has also been a productive spot for him. Granderson has hit .302 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 43 at-bats as a sixth place hitter. Nick Swisher batted second and reached base five times with two singles and three walks.
The two-run first inning was welcomed by CC Sabathia, whom the Yankees were relying on to get them back on the winning track after dropping the first two games at Detroit. The Yankees built their advantage to 7-0 in the fourth, but the Tigers kept crawling back with some help from shaky fielding by the Yanks.
They had not made an error in 12 consecutive games before Cano booted a grounder in the sixth, although it did not figure in the scoring. A misplay at third base by Casey McGehee in the seventh did, however, and contributed to an early hook for Sabathia, who gave up five runs (three earned) and eight hits with a walk, a hit batter and seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
Reliever David Robertson yielded four consecutive singles as the Tigers turned an 8-3 score into 8-7. But the Yankees scored two runs in the eighth and two more after two were out in the ninth to get the victory for Sabathia, who at 12-3 took over the staff lead in victories. CC is unbeaten in his past eight starts, a stretch in which he has a 5-0 record with a 3.51 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings.
Yanks rain hits on Orioles to avoid sweep
The only question Wednesday seemed to be if the rain that fell lightly but persistently for several innings would wash away all the scoring the Yankees had done over the first three innings. The day after blowing a 5-0, first-inning lead in an embarrassing loss to the Orioles, the Yankees had their offensive motor on full throttle and despite a somewhat shaky outing by Phil Hughes were able to avoid being swept by their closest pursuers in the American League East.
Two runs in the first inning, two more in the second and a whopping seven in the third had the Yanks cruising away toward an eventual 12-3 victory.
The Yankees’ lineup had a different look. Newest import Casey McGehee, who was obtained by Yankees Tuesday in a trade from the Pirates, was at first base spelling Mark Teixeira, who is sidelined by a sore left wrist. McGehee drove in the Yankees’ 12th run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and also walked twice and scored two runs.
Ichiro Suzuki made his first start in left field in 10 years and had the Yankee Stadium crowd of 44,593 buzzing with a wall-climbing catch in the sixth inning to take a potential extra-base hit away from Mark Reynolds.
“The last time I played left field was in the last game [Game 5] of the Division Series that the Mariners lost to the Yankees in 2001,” Ichiro recalled. “With the field larger, I can use more of my range. I just have to get used to it.”
Asked why he played left field instead of right field in that 2001 playoff game, Suzuki smiled and said, “You’ll have to ask Lou,” meaning Piniella, then the Seattle manager.
Joba Chamberlain, fresh off the disabled list, made his first appearance in 14 months and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Unfortunately, the first batter he faced, J.J. Hardy, hit a home run on a ball that Ichiro couldn’t prevent from reaching the seats. Chamberlain showed signs of rust as he was touched for two runs, four hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings.
“It was a day with a lot of emotion for him,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I thought he would be over-pumped up, but he threw strikes and didn’t try to over-throw.”
Hughes allowed nine hits in his six innings but only one run. The Orioles had runners in scoring position in each of Hughes’ innings but failed repeatedly in those situations. They were hitless in 11 such at-bats and stranded nine base runners. For the game, they were 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
Meanwhile, the Yankees had a field day with runners in scoring position, which has not been the case much of the year. They had seven hits in 10 at-bats in the clutch over the first three innings in building a 10-run lead. Curtis Granderson started the scoring with his 29th home run in the first inning, and Robinson Cano ended the seven-run third with his 24th homer of the season and ninth career grand slam.
That inning could have been worse for Baltimore except for center fielder Adam Jones’ dazzling grab of a deep drive by Suzuki. By the seventh inning, Orioles manager Buck Showalter began substituting freely, giving the game the look of a spring training exercise.
The Yankees’ 15-hit attack included three hits apiece by Derek Jeter, now batting .316, and Jayson Nix and two hits each for Granderson, Cano and Nick Swisher. With 10 of the Yanks’ previous 12 games having been decided by three runs or less, including six one-run games (all losses), they were in need of a good laugher.
“Even without some guys who are hurt, this offense is capable of scoring a lot of runs,” Girardi said.
Tex OK; Joba back; Yanks get McGehee
For a change, the Yankees received good news on the health front. First baseman Mark Teixeira, who was forced out of Monday night’s game because of a sore left wrist, underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam Tuesday at New York Presbyterian Hospital that revealed no structural damage.
Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser diagnosed the condition as inflammation in the left wrist. Tex was treated with a cortisone injection and will be reevaluated in three days.
“Huge relief” was manager Joe Girardi’s reaction to Teixeira’s situation. “I was preparing for the worst. For Tex to come out of a game you know it had to be painful. We’ll know a lot more about when he can play again Friday.”
The Yankees were concerned enough about Teixeira’s condition that they traded for a corner infielder, Casey McGehee. The Yankees acquired McGehee, 29, from the Pirates in exchange for relief pitcher Chad Qualls. McGehee was in Chicago Tuesday and not expected to arrive in New York in time for the Yankees’ game against the Orioles Tuesday night.
The Yankees were also hoping Joba Chamberlain would get to Yankee Stadium in time for the game. The reliever was supposed to pitch on injury rehabilitation at Double A Trenton but was notified en route to head back to the Bronx. He will replace Qualls in the bullpen.
“McGehee can play some first base for Tex who will be lost for a few days and some third base for Alex [Rodriguez] who will be lost for a few weeks,” Girardi said. “Having him here will help us have more flexibility at DH.”
Derek Jeter was in the designated hitter role with Ramiro Pena getting a start at shortstop. Nick Swisher took over for Teixeira at first base with Eric Chavez playing third. Ichiro Suzuki, who will eventually move to left field, remained in right field for Swisher, who was in the field for the first time in a week after recovering from a strained left hip flexor.
McGehee (pronounced ma-gee) was batting .230 with 13 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 35 RBI in 265 at-bats for the Pirates. He played in 77 games at first base and nine at third. A right-handed batter and thrower, McGehee finished fifth in the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the year voting 2009 when he hit .301 with 16 home runs and 66 RBI for the Brewers. He drove in 104 runs the next year and hit .285 with 23 home runs but slumped to .223 with 13 homers and 67 RBI last year. Pittsburgh acquired him from Milwaukee Dec. 12, 2001 for pitcher Jose Veras, who pitched in 106 games for the Yankees from 2006-09 and compiled an 8-4 record with a 4.43 ERA in 103 2/3 innings.
Qualls, 33, is 2-1 with a 4.89 ERA in 43 relief appearances combined with the Phillies and the Yankees. The righthander came to the Yankees July 1 in a trade for a player to be named and cash considerations and was 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.
Jack O'Connell
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