Teixeira everywhere as Yanks edge A's
NEW YORK -- Mark Teixeira homered twice and Stephen Drew's late solo drive helped the Yankees withstand a ninth-inning rally and hang on for a 5-4 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Teixeira celebrated the 39th multihomer game of his career with a pair of solo homers off Oakland reliever Evan Scribner, who took over when A's starter Scott Kazmir was forced out after just three innings due to left triceps tightness.
"It was a great team game," Teixeira said. "We needed every last run and every last out there at the end. It was good to see everyone contribute today."
Marcus Semien put a scare into the Yankees with a two-run ninth-inning homer that pulled Oakland within a run, but the game was closed out by Andrew Miller, who made his first appearance after a stint on the disabled list due to a left forearm strain.
Video: OAK@NYY: Miller gets the save in return from DL
"Thankfully, we got some extra tack-on runs from Stephen Drew, and Tex had a great game," Miller said. "At the end of the day, the one thing about having the ninth inning is if you finish with a lead and win the game, it doesn't matter."
Yankees starter CC Sabathia recovered from early trouble to pitch into the sixth inning. He appeared to be on the ropes in the second, serving up run-scoring hits to Josh Phegley and Mark Canha, but he righted himself to provide 5 1/3 innings and notch his first victory since June 7 in Anaheim.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Tex messaging: The American League's RBI leader with 61, Teixeira visited the right-field seats twice, connecting for his second multihomer game of the season. Teixeira tied the game in the fourth and extending New York's lead in the sixth with his second homer. The All-Star has 22 homers this year after hitting that many all of last season.
Video: OAK@NYY: Teixeira hits two solo homers in Yanks' win
"I enjoyed the win the most," Teixeira said. "If you have a night like that and you lose, it doesn't mean much. Hitting two home runs is always nice. It's not easy to hit home runs, so getting two against a tough team is fun."
Video: OAK@NYY: Teixeira leans over railing to catch foul
Teixeira contributed defensively as well with a handful of defensive gems, including an acrobatic grab over the railing of the Yankees' dugout in the top of the seventh and a diving snare of a Josh Reddick grounder the next inning that resulted in Teixeira lunging to tag first base to end the frame. More >
Video: OAK@NYY: Teixeira robs Reddick with a diving stop
Kazmir injured: Kazmir had completed at least seven innings in four of his previous five starts and felt he could've pitched through what he described to be a "super-minor" injury on Wednesday, but the A's opted to rest the veteran and turn to the bullpen early. Kazmir is already ensured extra rest before his next scheduled start, planned for after the All-Star break.
Video: OAK@NYY: Kazmir leaves game with tricep tightness
"Honestly, it almost made sense [to leave the game], them throwing out the scenario for me and how much time I'd have off after this start and just how muggy it was," Kazmir said. "It's just frustrating. You want to go out there. I felt good going out for the start of it and to be able to end my night like that, it is very frustrating." More >
Sabathia settles down: The Yankees had reliever Bryan Mitchell getting loose in the second inning as Sabathia permitted hits to five of his first eight batters, with plenty of loud contact, but the big lefty managed to recover and allowed hits to only two of the next 16 men he faced. That kept the Yankees in the game, and they opted not to push it any farther than the one-out single Sabathia permitted in the sixth, finishing his night at 88 pitches. The lefty was working on eight days' rest after having his last start pushed back to have fluid drained from his knee, Sabathia acknowledged after Wednesday's game.
Video: OAK@NYY: CC retires Burns to escape jam in the 2nd
"The changeups I was throwing earlier in the game were a little flat," Sabathia said. "Me and [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] talked about it a lot in between innings. I just made a little adjustment and the pitch started working for us. It opened up that inside part of the plate, and to get some strikes in there, get some early popups, I think definitely helped us tonight." More >
Home run horror: Scribner continued to be haunted by the long ball, allowing two more to bring his season total to 11, most among Major League relievers. It's the second consecutive outing in which the right-hander has allowed two home runs and his third of the season. He has a 5.79 ERA in 26 appearances since May 8 after posting a 1.10 ERA over his first 14 games.
"Just some balls that are elevated," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "In that position, he's a guy that's got to give us some length there. We're trying to get him right. Certainly the problem is the long ball for him."
QUOTABLE
"I think that's a big part of our game, and that's how we're going to win games -- by hitting the ball out of our ballpark. And we're designed to do that here. That's what we're made up to do." -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi
Video: OAK@NYY: Girardi on Teixeira, Sabathia, win over A's
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Teixeira's second homer of the evening was the 385th of his career, moving him past Harold Baines and pulling him even with Dwight Evans for 61st on the all-time home run list.
WHAT'S NEXT
A's: Jesse Chavez (4-8, 3.20 ERA) gets the start in Thursday's 10:05 a.m. PT series finale at Yankee Stadium. The right-hander has a 5.00 ERA over his last six starts after posting a 2.38 ERA in his first eight starts of the season. He's 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in five career appearances, including three starts, against New York.
Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (4-3, 3.94 ERA) will make his 11th start of the season in the final game before the All-Star break at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka has permitted 14 earned runs in 16 innings over his last three starts (7.88 ERA) after going 4-2 with a 2.49 ERA in his first seven starts.
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