SAN DIEGO — As you watched Mark Teixeira get dominated by Andrew Cashner in his first three at-bats Sunday, it was easy to wonder if the knee injury that landed him on the disabled list for three weeks in June was barking. The switch hitter fanned in the first, third and fifth innings.
“Cashner has my number. Certain guys are tough to see the ball from,’’ Teixeira said. “He could have told me what was coming and I couldn’t have hit it.’’
When the right-hander departed after six innings, Teixeira figured he had to have a better chance and he did hitting two homers off Padres relievers in the eighth and ninth innings that helped the Yankees to a 6-3 victory in front of 42,131 at Petco Park.
The victory enabled the 40-41 Yankees to avoid dropping three straight to the lowly Padres and coupled with the AL East-leading Orioles losing to the Mariners moved them to seven lengths back of the Birds.
The homers were the 400th and 401st of Teixeira’s career and put him into fifth place among all-time switch hitters. Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504), Chipper Jones (468) and teammate Carlos Beltran (411) are ahead of Teixeira.
“I feel connected to the switch hitters,’’ said Teixeira, who has seven homers this season and gave the home run balls to his father. “Mickey Mantle and I am a Yankee. Eddie Murray I watched growing up in Baltimore. I played with Chipper Jones in Atlanta and [Carlos] here.’’
Until Teixeira’s towering homer cleared the right-field wall starting the eighth off Carlos Villanueva and two-run blast in the ninth against Kevin Quackenbush that was followed by a celebratory, and out of character, bat flip from the Yankees’ first baseman, the day was carried by right-hander Chad Green.
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In his second big league start Green limited the Padres to a run, three hits, didn’t issue a walk and fanned eight. The only hit was former Yankee Yangervis Solarte’s leadoff homer in the second that tied the score, 1-1. Solarte finished 4-for-4.
“I always thought I could get big league hitters out,’’ said Green, who was punished by the Diamondbacks in his first big league start May 16 in Phoenix for six runs (four earned) and eight hits in four innings. “It’s nice to know.’’
Working with a mid-90s fastball he was throwing for strikes and using his off-speed pitches behind in the count, Green really only ran into one jam and he extracted himself with a very athletic play that resulted in an inning-ending double play with two on.
Wil Myers was on third and Solarte at second with out in the fourth and the Yankees leading, 2-1, when Alex Dickerson smoked a liner back to the mound. Green gloved the ball, looked to third, and then threw to second to complete the double play.
Two innings later with 75 pitches thrown Joe Girardi replaced Green with Dellin Betances.
“He hadn’t been in that situation, third time through the lineup,’’ Girardi said. “He did his job.’’
Betances and Andrew Miller worked scoreless, if not perfect, seventh and eighth innings, respectively. With a five-run bulge in the ninth Girardi didn’t call for Aroldis Chapman. But when Anthony Swarzak gave up a two-run homer to Dickerson with no outs, Girardi summoned Chapman and three outs later the lefty had his 16th save in 17 chances.
As for the bat flip, Teixeira didn’t know if the milestone homer was deep enough so he celebrated with 401.
“That one I enjoyed a little bit,’’ said Teixeira, who also contributed a nifty play in the field to end the eighth with runners on first and second. “I got it good. I was getting off-speed [pitches] all game. I got a hanging curveball and I was happy.’’
