A’s lefty Kazmir removed vs Yanks with triceps tightness

Teixeira, who struck out to end that game, bounced back with a pair of home runs and three highlight-reel plays at first base, leading the Yankees to a 5-4 win over Oakland in front of 41,626 at the Stadium.

The Yankees caught a break in the fourth as Kazmir left the game with left triceps tightness, forcing Oakland to go to its bullpen much earlier than expected.

Pitching on eight days’ rest after having his start pushed back, Sabathia (4-8) recovered from two rocky innings to pitch into the sixth.

When he showed up in spring training – finally healthy, feeling back to full strength – Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira set familiar benchmarks that had been out of reach the past three years.

Kazmir allowed an unearned run in the second inning Wednesday night but otherwise had pitched well.

It wasn’t so comfy for Miller, making his first appearance since June 9, as Semien cut the lead to one with a one-out, two-run blast. Tuesday was Oakland’s first win in extra innings. In between Teixeira home runs, New York second baseman Jose Pirela lifted a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fourth. The A’s bullpen has been problematic, and Scribner gave up a game-tying homer to the first man he faced, Mark Teixeira. After Miller allowed Semien’s home run, Oakland’s Stephen Vogt reached second on a throwing error by third baseman Gregorio Petit.

Billy Butler doubled to start the second. Oakland took a 2-0 lead with one out in the second on RBI bloop singles from catcher Josh Phegley and left fielder Mark Canha.

Sabathia wasn’t particularly good, with the Athletics knocking him around for seven hits and drawing two walks in 5.1 innings, but he was enough.

The Yankees got one back in the second against Kazmir on Didi Gregorius’ RBI double after an error by Lawrie at third base on Young’s leadoff grounder.

Athletics: Closer Sean Doolittle (left shoulder) played catch Tuesday for the first time since going on the disabled list May 28.

After arriving at spring training in great shape, and following a new, gluten-free diet, Teixeira said he believed he was in for a big season from the first days of February. The shortstop was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.NOTES: The Yankees activated CF Jacoby Ellsbury and LHP Andrew Miller off the disabled list and optioned OF Ramon Flores and RHP Nick Rumbelow to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre…. New York 3B Chase Headley was held out of the starting lineup with calf soreness, though manager Joe Girardi did not know which calf was sore…. He couldn’t make it through the fifth inning in his June 5 return game, but since then he’d started five times and was 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA.

Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka has not won in four starts, the longest drought of his brief major league career.