Mark Teixeira went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in his first rehab game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday in his attempt to come back from torn cartilage in his right knee.
It was the first of three scheduled games Teixeira is expected to play with SWB before rejoining the Yankees on Saturday.
After the game, Teixeira told reporters his knee felt good.
The first baseman has been out since June 4 and if he suffers another setback, he expects his season to be over.
“The big thing is that he feels comfortable, that he can do everything he needs to do,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Teixeira before Tuesday’s 8-4 loss to Colorado.
“He just needs to get some at-bats under his belt. As far as the production, yeah you would love to him feel good coming out of that but it’s different when they go play down there. It’s a different mental test. The big thing is that he comes out healthy.’’
The Yankees haven’t found a suitable replacement at first.
When they signed Ike Davis last week, the thinking was the left-handed hitter could take aim at the right-field porch. However, Davis wasn’t in the lineup against Colorado righty Chad Bettis. Instead, Girardi used the right-handed hitting Rob Refsnyder at first and batted him ninth.
“I am just playing [Refsnyder],’’ the manager said when asked why Davis wasn’t in the lineup.
In six games, the former Met was batting .214 (3-for-14) and had five strikeouts. He went 0-for-3 against Bettis last Wednesday in Denver.
Girardi said he hopes the stomach virus that forced Jacoby Ellsbury out of Tuesday night’s lineup vanishes by Wednesday.
“Obviously he has a stomach virus of some sort,’’ Girardi said. “He has not been able to keep anything down. We will just have to see where he is at [Wednesday].’’
Switch-hitter Aaron Hicks started in center, batted eighth and went 0-for-4.
With Thursday dark on the schedule, the Yankees could give Ellsbury three days of rest by not starting him Wednesday.
Ellsbury missed seven games in May with a right hip problem but has been free of injury since returning May 14. In his last 50 games he is hitting .297 (54-for-182) with a .361 on-base percentage.
The Yankees and Rockies participated in a pregame, on-field ceremony to recognize the victims of last week’s tragedy in an Orlando nightclub. Girardi and Rockies manager Walt Weiss placed a rainbow wreath at home plate.
“I was thrilled when Brian [Cashman] and Jean [Afterman] called me. I am grateful and I want to make sure everybody knows to put their eyes on this game and it will be a great example for the rest of us,’’ said Billy Bean, MLB’s vice president of social responsibility and inclusion, who was a guest of the Yankees.
According to Bean, MLB donated $100,000 to the victim’s fund and the Rays contributed $300,000.
Chris Parmelee hasn’t started baseball activities but is hoping that begins soon.
“If I was guessing, the end of the week or the beginning of next week,’’ said Parmelee, who is on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring.