Mark Teixeira Reitiring After 2016 Season

The Rangers appear to be running away with the AL West, but they are playing the second place Astros in a crucial three game weekend series. Sabathia has failed to author a quality start in seven of his last eight outings, a stretch in which he’s gone 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA as his overall ERA has increased from 2.20 to 4.15.

Before the All-Star Break, the Yankees took three of four from the Indians at Progressive Field.

Pitching for the Indians on Saturday will be Corey Kluber. Emotions boiled over for Texeira on Wednesday night against the New York Mets, as it looked like he was ready to charge the mound after Steven Matz hit him with a pitch in the leg. Ellsbury came in to score on an RBI ground out to second base from designated hitter Brian McCann.

In his last start Josh Tomlin went seven innings in a win over Oakland. In the fourth inning of Rea’s first start with the Marlins, he had to come out of the game because of an elbow problem.

Chase Headley had an RBI single in the sixth, Aaron Hicks hit a solo homer in the seventh and Brett Gardner delivered a two-run single in the eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury has hit 107 times with 41 runs and 44 RBI. It was Napoli’s team-leading 28th homer and sixth in the past eight games. Five straight starts in which the starter couldn’t get through fifth inning.

Reliever Nick Goody worked in and out of trouble in the ninth to close out the game. They scored a first inning run for only the second time in their last ten games, and they scored the first two runs of the game for the first time since July 24th, the final game of the Giants series.

Indians: LF Brandon Guyer, acquired Monday from Tampa Bay, made his second start for Cleveland and was hit by a pitch on the left thigh. But he was a very good player who played a major role in the last championship season in the Bronx, and he cared about all the right things, on and off the field. RHP Joe Colon (shoulder) was set to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A.

The Reds tied it at 2 in the top of the ninth on pinch-hitter Ramon Cabrera’s sacrifice fly off Tony Watson (2-3).

Anyway, the point is that Teixeira rarely let his guard down, which has become the Yankee way since Derek Jeter ruled the clubhouse, and it’s too bad, because I think fans would like to see a little more personality from the players they root for.

While the final score suggested a back-and-forth slugfest, the Yankees’ ability to jump out to insurmountable leads – they led 6-0 in the third and 11-4 after the seventh – against a doubly risky Indians team had manager Joe Girardi pleased.

With the Rangers out of contention and Teixeira’s free agency looming, the team made a decision to trade him to the Braves in 2007 for a package of five players; catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus, and starting pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones.

“It’s odd. I think obviously we’re all excited to see him, but maybe not so excited to see him in a game, that sort of thing”, Girardi said. “He’s done it before and he’s pretty comfortable over there”, the manager said, adding that McCann will probably be the DH all weekend and then catch some next week in Boston.