MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 19 (UPI) — Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher had two-run homers and Andruw Jones added a solo shot Friday, powering the New York Yankees to an 8-4 win over Minnesota.

The Yankees produced a 15-hit attack while maintaining their half game lead over second-place Boston in the American League East. New York has won six out of eight.

Minnesota had a 2-1 lead going into the third, when Teixeira hit his 33rd homer of the season. He has the third-highest home run total in the majors behind Toronto’s Jose Bautista and teammate Curtis Granderson.

Swisher’s blast came in the fifth and Jones tacked on his homer later in that inning to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead.

CC Sabathia (17-7), who had lost his previous two starts, held on for seven innings to get the win while giving up four runs on 10 hits. He struck out nine.

All three New York homers came off Brian Duensing (8-12), who worked five innings and lost his fourth straight start.

NEW YORK, July 22 (UPI) — Homers by Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher accounted for seven runs during a nine-run third Friday, sending the New York Yankees soaring past Oakland 17-7.

The Yankees already had a 5-2 lead before they sent 13 men to the plate in their most productive inning of the season.

Teixeira walked to open the third, Robinson Cano doubled Teixeira to third and Swisher then hit a three-run homer. New York had the bases loaded when Teixeira came to the plate for the second time in the inning and he hit a 0-1 pitch from Trevor Cahill out to right for a grand slam.

The Yankees piled up 17 hits and Swisher produced his fourth and fifth RBI of the game with a seventh-inning single.

Cahill (8-9) was charged with 10 runs on nine hits in two-plus innings.

New York starter Phil Hughes could not stick around long enough to get the win, even though he was staked to a 14-2 lead.

Hughes allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings and was replaced by eventual winner Hector Noesi.

Noesi (1-0), making the 13th relief appearance of his rookie season, picked up his first major league victory by throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Rays’ slide in the standings
extended to another game with costly walks.

Russell Martin(notes) drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the
ninth inning, giving the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Rays on Monday
night.

Rookie left-hander Alex Torres(notes) (0-1) yielded the winning run in his major
league debut after New York loaded the bases on Curtis Granderson’s(notes) single, an
intentional walk to Nick Swisher(notes) and another walk to Andruw Jones(notes). Martin worked
Torres to a full count, fouled off a pitch and then took ball four to push
Granderson across the plate.

“You give the kid a lot of credit,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He
had some guts. Threw changeups. We got fortunate that we got a run by walks. For
his first outing, that’s a tough situation.”

Robinson Cano(notes), Mark Teixeira(notes), Brett Gardner(notes) and Eduardo Nunez(notes) also drove in
runs for the second-place Yankees, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit to remain 1 1/2
games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings.

Tampa Bay dropped a season-high eight games back of the Red Sox.

“It’s not a very optimal position, but believe me, I’m not losing any kind
of hope on this one,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Torres threw 44 pitches, and was optioned to Triple-A Durham after the game.

“The circumstances of the debut were not easy,” Maddon said. “Honestly, I
thought he did great. I thought we had to walk Swisher. He’s a very dangerous
right-hand hitter.”

Tampa Bay’s bullpen has issued 15 walks over the past two games.

The Rays wasted a nice pitching performance by rookie Alex Cobb(notes), who allowed
two runs and three hits after being called up from the minors to make his sixth
major league start.

The 23-year-old right-hander limited the Yankees to Cano’s RBI grounder in
the first and Teixeira’s run-scoring single in the fifth before turning over a
4-2 lead to a depleted bullpen.

Sunday night’s 1-0, 16-inning loss to Boston left Maddon with limited
options after Cobb departed. The Yankees tied it 4-all with two runs charged to
reliever Cesar Ramos(notes) in the eighth, but wasted a chance to take the lead when
Derek Jeter(notes) struck out with the potential go-ahead run at third base.

After going a combined 3 for 50 in the extra-innings loss to the Red Sox,
the Rays scored three times and matched their hit total from the 5-hour,
44-minute marathon in the first inning alone against Yankees starter A.J.
Burnett(notes). Evan Longoria(notes) drove in the first two with a double and Burnett’s
throwing error permitted the third run to score.

Casey Kotchman’s(notes) bases-loaded infield single made it 4-1 in the second.

Both Cobb and catcher Robinson Chirinos(notes), who made his major league debut and
doubled in his first at-bat, were recalled from Durham earlier in the day.

Cobb gave up a run in the first without allowing the Yankees to get the ball
out of the infield. Granderson stole second after reaching on a one-out, bunt
single, took third on second baseman Sean Rodriguez’s(notes) fielding error and scored
when Cano grounded into a force play.

All-Star David Robertson(notes) (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out
two to get the victory. Mariano Rivera(notes) worked a one-two-three ninth to earn his
24th save in 28 opportunities.

The Rays starter issued two-out walks to Brett Gardner in the second and
Jorge Posada(notes) in the fourth, but New York didn’t manage another hit until
Teixeira’s RBI single trimmed New York’s deficit to 4-2. Moments later, a
lightning strike caused a bank of lights along the first base line to lose power
and play was stopped for 18 minutes.

Burnett allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander
walked six, but the Rays didn’t take full advantage and stranded 10 baserunners
through the first six innings.

“We had opportunities to get more runs and we did not do it,” Maddon said.

Jeter went 1 for 5, moving ahead of Hall of Famer Al Kaline into 26th on the
career hit with No. 3,008 on a seventh-inning single off Joel Peralta(notes).

NOTES: To make room on the roster for Cobb, Chirinos and Torres, the Rays
designated RHP Adam Russell(notes) for assignment and placed C Jose Lobaton(notes) (left knee
sprain) and RHP Juan Cruz(notes) (right groin strain) on the 15-day disabled list. …
Rays minor league LHP Matt Moore(notes) was promoted to Triple-A Durham from Double-A
Montgomery.

NEW YORK – Cleveland starter Mitch Talbot has been ejected from the game against the New York Yankees after he hit Alex Rodriguez in the backside with a pitch.

Plate umpire Dan Iassogna immediately tossed Talbot after the righty hit Rodriguez with a fastball in the bottom of the sixth inning. The night before, the Indians and Yankees cleared the benches when Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch and took exception to it.

Rodriguez hit a solo home run off Talbot in the fourth inning Saturday. Curtis Granderson went deep one batter before Talbot hit A-Rod.

While Rodriguez writhed on the ground, Talbot argued with Iassogna, and Cleveland manager Manny Acta came out, too. Talbot gestured to the mound, possibly suggesting that he slipped in the wet, misty conditions.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona says he didn’t mean to hit Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira with a pitch.

Carmona said he was trying to regain control by pitching inside when his first pitch after giving up a home run drilled the Yankees’ slugger in the shoulder Friday night.

Teixeira, also plunked during the last series in which New York was swept in three games by Boston, took exception to Carmona’s pitch and the benches cleared.

Before Saturday afternoon’s game, Carmona said through bullpen catcher Francisco Morales that he meant to come up and in to Teixeira because he usually pitches the switch-hitter low and away.

Carmona threw 14 of his first 18 pitches for balls and walked three in a three-run first inning before giving up Granderson’s homer.

NEW YORK – Joba Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a stiff elbow, leaving the New York Yankees short two setup men in the bullpen.

Rafael Soriano also is sidelined, with inflammation in his right elbow, and is not expected back until perhaps the All-Star break. David Robertson is likely to assume the eighth-inning role as Mariano Rivera’s primary setup man, and manager Joe Girardi said he’ll look to mix and match in the seventh.

In other news, first baseman Mark Teixeira was back in the lineup after leaving Tuesday night’s series opener against Boston when he was hit on the right kneecap by a first-inning pitch from Jon Lester.

“It’s a lot better than I thought,” said Teixeira, who treated the bone bruise with plenty of ice. “I didn’t sleep great last night but I woke up this morning and as soon as I started moving around, I didn’t have any problems.”

Girardi said he received a text message about 10 a.m. from Teixeira saying he was healthy enough to play.

“I was really surprised,” the manager said.

Yankees catcher Russell Martin, however, was out because his back locked up the night before.

Francisco Cervelli was slated to catch and bat ninth. Girardi wasn’t sure when Martin will return.

Also, designated hitter Jorge Posada was not with the team because his son was having more surgery on his skull. Jorge Jr. has a condition called craniosynostosis, which causes problems with the growth pattern of the skull, and has had several operations throughout his childhood.

Posada is expected back Thursday. He replaced Teixeira on Tuesday night and showed signs of breaking out of his season-long slump, going 3 for 3 to raise his batting average to .195.

Alex Rodriguez was in the DH slot Wednesday night, with Eduardo Nunez penciled in to play third base. That left the Yankees with two healthy players on the bench: outfielders Andruw Jones and Chris Dickerson.

“We’ve had a number of things that have hit us in a short period of time,” Girardi said.

New York added two fresh arms to the bullpen, claiming right-hander Jeff Marquez off waivers from the Chicago White Sox and recalling righty Amauri Sanit from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Right-hander Hector Noesi was optioned to Triple-A after throwing six solid innings in relief Tuesday night during a 6-4 loss. Noesi saved the bullpen following Freddy Garcia’s ineffective start, but won himself a ticket to the minors because the long outing made him unavailable to pitch for four days.

“You’ve got to make sure that you’re covered,” Girardi said. “He did everything that we could have asked of him.”

Chamberlain, who has not given up a run in his past eight outings, said he’s been receiving routine treatment on the area where his forearm meets his elbow for about 10 days or two weeks. He said it hasn’t bothered him in games, but his elbow would tighten up after he pitched.

“It’s just one of those things when it was at the point where I was like, you know what, I’ve got to say something,” said Chamberlain, who threw 35 pitches in his most recent outing Sunday. “I didn’t feel it when I pitched. It was when I was done. That’s kind of I guess the thing that kind of raised the red flag for me.”

The right-hander had an MRI exam Wednesday that revealed a strained flexor muscle. He will be shut down for 10 to 14 days before beginning a throwing program and is likely to miss several weeks.

He was placed on the DL retroactive to June 6.

“His stuff had been great,” Girardi said.

The Yankees traded Marquez to Chicago as part of a package for right fielder Nick Swisher in November 2008. He was signed to a major league contract Wednesday and added to the 25-man roster, and his flight was expected to land in New York about 5 p.m.

To make room for Marquez on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred reserve infielder Eric Chavez (broken left foot) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

Sanit was with the Yankees from May 12-21, making three relief appearances. He allowed six earned runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

The Boston Red Sox topped the New York Yankees 6-4 Tuesday night in front of a sold out Yankee Stadium to move into a virtual tie with each other atop the AL East.

Boston (34-26) is now 6-1 on the season against New York (33-25.) “Right now they’re playing very well and they’re playing very comfortable in our home field” said Alex Rodriguez afterwards.

The game wasn’t all the Yankees lost as three-time Silver Slugger award winner Mark Teixeira was helped off the field in the first after getting drilled in the kneecap by Jon Lester, and is listed as day-to-day with a knee contusion.

Lester (8-2), despite two hit batsmen, picked up the win for the Sox. The ace left-hander went six strong innings, allowing three runs and eight hits, while striking out five and is now 8-1 in his career against the rival Yankees.

Freddy Garcia (4-5) took the loss in the Bronx. The 34-year old veteran righty allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks before being lifted in just the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs. The 1 2/3 inning-outing was his shortest as a Yankee starter this season.

“His stuff wasn’t crisp tonight” said an-understated Joe Girardi afterwards. “He seemed to be up a lot (with his fastball).”

One of the benefactors of Garcia’s off-night was leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. The AL’s leader in stolen bases (22) led off the game by drilling Garcia’s 2-2 split-fingered fastball into the right field bleachers. Then, after a walk to Dustin Pedroia, first-baseman Adrian Gonzalez tripled him home and then scored on Kevin Youkilis’ sac fly—the Sox led 3-0 before Lester even threw his first pitch.

Ellsbury finished with two hits in five at-bats, including a two-out ninth-inning double that he unsuccessfully tried to stretch into a three-bagger. Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the league leader with now 51 RBIs, scored twice and drew two more walks in addition to his first-inning triple.

Jorge Posada, filling in for the injured Teixeira, picked up a team-high three hits and reached base four times on the night. In addition, the 39-year old switch-hitter picked up his first two hits of the season from the right side of the plate, snapping a 0-for-27 start.

Derek Jeter picked up two more hits in the loss, this time as the Yankees DH. The future hall-of-famer is just 12 base knocks away from becoming the 28th player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits. Meanwhile, Nick Swisher picked up two hits, including a two-run double in the fifth that scored Posada and catcher Russell Martin, slicing Boston’s lead to 6-3.

Despite the short outing by Garcia, the Bombers were able to escape without too much wear on their bullpen. After Luis Ayala got them through the third inning, with little trouble, 24-year old Hector Noesi came in and pitched six strong innings, impressively sitting down 13 straight hitters at one point.

His only trouble came in the fifth inning, when after backing off David Ortiz with a little chin music, the righty from the Dominican Republic’s 1-1 offering was blasted into the right field bleachers, extending Boston’s lead to 6-1. The homerun was the 14th on the season for the popular DH, whose numbers this year (.324 avg, 32 RBIs) bring back memories of the once-dominant “Big Papi”.

Jonathan Papelbon got the save for the BoSox. The save was the 200th of his career for the once uber-dominant closer, as the Yankees touched him for a run in the ninth off a Posado single that scored the pinch-hitting Brett Gardner.

The one run marked the fifth time in his last seven appearances that he surrendered a score, moving his season ERA to 4.50 – well past his 2010 career worst of 3.90.

Papelbon, who blew up Sunday on the field over balls and strikes, was suspended earlier Tuesday over the outburst, but is free to pitch while he’s appealing the ruling.

The two rivals will continue their series Wednesday as 44-year old knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield (2-1) squares off against A.J. Burnett (6-3.)