Yankees 6, Athletics 2

After third baseman Cole Figueroa’s double over the first-base bag deflected off first-base umpire John Tumpane’s left leg, Ellsbury singled down the right-field line for a 4-2 lead.NOTES: Oakland LHP Scott Kazmir did some light throwing Thursday after leaving Wednesday’s start after the third inning with left triceps tightness.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens). New York Yankees’ Jacoby Ellsbury hits a fourth-inning, two-run single in a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, July 9, 2015, in New York. Canha’s double with two outs gave Oakland a 2-1 lead. He’s received no injection, he said, and has just been resting and icing it. Hours after being called up from the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the 28-year-old Figueroa finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored to help lead his team past the Oakland Athletics.

Three innings later, Gardner learned via the Stadium public address system that he had been named to replace Gordon, earning the first All-Star selection of his career. Because the ball landed in front of the umpire, the play was not subject to video review.

The Yankees tied it up in the third as Jacoby Ellsbury drew a leadoff walk, Gardner singled to right and Mark Teixeira lined a hit to center, bringing Ellsbury home. One of the runs off him was unearned.

Tanaka went a season-high 7 2/3 innings and threw a season-high 114 pitches. I just thought that was kind of random and then obviously they made the announcement after that.

Oakland got all its runs in the second, when Josh Reddick reached on catcher’s interference by Brian McCann, and Billy Butler and Mark Canha hit RBI doubles.

Only one Athletics hitter reached base against Tanaka between the third and eighth, and that was on Butler’s strikeout/wild pitch in the fourth.

Tanaka had not topped 98 pitches this year, the Yankees concerned about his arm after a stint on the DL. However, “it was not the reason he was pushed back”, Girardi said of the eight days of rest Sabathia had between then and last night’s start.

With Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances unavailable, Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren completed the three-hitter.

One day, Figueroa hopes to be able to keep track of games on an app he is trying to design. “I was really encouraged by the way he said he felt today”.

For the Yankees, his hitting will do quite fine. Teixeira now has 62 RBI in 79 games, matching his season total in 123 games a year ago.

Yankees: Headley missed his second straight game; Girardi was hopeful Headley could play this weekend…. New York INF Brendan Ryan (back) began a rehab assignment with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and will continue his rehab Friday with Double-A Trenton.

Athletics: Kendall Graveman (6-4) starts Friday at Cleveland, and Danny Salazer (7-4) opens for the Indians.