Teix To The DL, Romine Called Up

#Yankees place 1B Mark Teixeira on 15-day DL with right hamstring strain; recall C Austin Romine from Triple-A @swbrailriders.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 5, 2014

The beat guys have all the details, but the team made it official a few hours ago.  Teix has been put on the 15-day DL and Austin Romine has been called up.  It sounds like the team is going to go with the exact plan I described earlier this morning.  Johnson will be the primary first base man, Cervelli will work in some when the matchups are favorable, and Romine will get some time behind the plate.

Early indications are that Teix's hamstring strain isn't that bad and the team is hopeful he can return right after the 15 days are up.  That would be the best possible outcome, as long as he's fully recovered.

Teix's Hammy Not Looking Good

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

And all this time I thought it was his wrist we had to be worried about.  I guess when you consider how much worse it could have been, last night's injury to Mark Teixeira wasn't as bad as it would have been had it been the wrist.  Teix had to leave last night's game in the bottom of the 2nd after taking an off step fielding a foul ball and tweaked his right hamstring.  He called the trainer out onto the field after stretching his leg a few times and after a brief conversation with him and Joe, left the field quickly and angrily.  It's the same hamstring he tore running to first in the 2010 postseason.

The official diagnosis right now is a hamstring strain, although no MRIs or tests have been done to formally evaluate and diagnose the severity.  The plan is for Teix to get some further tests on it when the team returns to New York, but based on how quickly he left the field and his comments after the game about how it felt, it doesn't sound like something that's going to heal up in a few days.  A DL stint appears imminent and could happen as soon as today.

Game 4 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 TOR 3

(Ooooooh, trippy.  Courtesy of the AP)

However you felt about the Yankees' 1-2 showing in their season-opening series against Houston should have been immediately washed over by a tidal wave of excitement about last night's game.  If it wasn't, you need to reevaluate your fandom.  Last night was the moment we've all been waiting for since late January, our first chance to see the $155 million man in action.  Masahiro Tanaka made his MLB regular season debut last night in Toronto, and it was everything we hoped for.

Game Notes:

- Well, except for the first batter of the 1st inning.  Melky Cabrera led off the game for Toronto with a solo HR on a hanging splitter, but Tanaka sat down the next 3 in order to limit the damage to 1 run.

- He got into trouble again in the 2nd thanks to some ridiculously bad BIP luck on a slew of groundballs and a Mark Teixeira throwing error, giving up 2 more runs and giving away the lead.  After a brief injury delay for Teix (more on that later), Tanaka regrouped to strike out the final 2 batters of the inning.

- While these early problems were going on, the offense was doing its part to support Tanaka.  4 of the first 5 Yankee hitters got hits, including RBI singles by Teix and Carlos Beltran, and they tacked on additional runs in the 3rd (Yangervis Solarte RBI double) and 4th (Brian McCann RBI single).

- Tanaka shook off the rough start to the game and went into absolute shutdown mode after the 2nd.  He allowed just 2 more baserunners through the 7th, neither of which advanced passed second base, and got plenty of weak GB outs.  He was dealing.

- As Tanaka gave way to the Yankee 'pen, the lineup put up 2 more insurance runs in the 8th and 9th innings.  Matt Thornton, Dellin Betances (kinda), and D-Rob combined to finish the final 2 frames and get the Yanks back to .500.