Mark Teixeira sat out Wednesday’s win with a stiff neck that he’s been dealing with since the Yankees played in Baltimore last weekend.
“His neck’s been bothering him,” manager Joe Girardi said after the Yankees beat the Marlins, 2-1, in The Bronx. “So I gave him the whole day.”
Girardi insisted the injury was “nothing serious” and the first baseman may return to the lineup Thursday.
“My hope is yes,” said Girardi, who also pointed to the short turnaround after the Yankees played in Miami Tuesday night. “We thought this was the best day. … He felt a day off would really help.”
Girardi stuck to that even when Garrett Jones had to face a lefty in the seventh and stay at first base in a tight game.
Teixeira said he received treatment throughout the day and was optimistic the day off “did the trick.”
“I woke up with it one day,” said Teixeira, who wasn’t sure how it occurred. “You never know. It’s a dive, weird swing, a weird throw. Just woke up with it and it was locked up.”
One of the effects of Eovaldi’s brief outing was Chris Capuano being forced to pitch four innings and unavailable for “at least three days,” according to Girardi.
To give Girardi another option at long reliever, the Yankees recalled lefty Jose De Paula from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned Jose Ramirez to SWB to open a roster spot.
“He’s a guy that can give us distance,” Girardi said. “He was starting down there, so he’s stretched out.”
Jacoby Ellsbury continued running drills on the field before Wednesday’s game. … Didi Gregorius, who batted second for the first time of the season on Tuesday, was dropped back to seventh on Wednesday, with Chase Headley hitting second.
Former Yankee Ichiro Suzuki returned to The Bronx and new Marlins manager Dan Jennings had nothing but praise for the outfielder — adding there have already been internal discussions to bring Ichiro back next season.