Yankees' Teixeira out with sore left wrist

NEW YORK (AP) Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was out of the starting lineup against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night because of a sore left wrist.

Teixeira hurt his wrist while batting against Boston on July 29, then had a cortisone injection two days later. He returned to the lineup on Aug. 3 and played 14 consecutive days, hitting .259 with three homers and seven RBIs. That left him at .257 with 23 home runs and 78 RBIs for the season.

``The wrist is a little sore. The same thing I had two weeks ago, but we played 14 days straight, so it's gotten sore the last few days. We just want to give it a day or two to calm down a little bit,'' he said. ``I'm taking 50 swings in the cage. I'm taking 20 on the field every day and the game swings, that just adds up after a couple weeks.''

Nick Swisher started at first base in the absence of Teixeira, who said he might need ``a day here, a day there.''

``It's something he's been battling,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ``It got to the point where we're going to have to give him some time off again. I don't think that it's a long-term problem, but we've just got to get through it.''

Girardi said he wouldn't be surprised if Teixeira needs at least a second straight day off Saturday. It's the time of year when many players are banged up.

``A lot of things that go on in there that people don't always know, but it's a constant conversation with a lot of our players, how they're feeling today, and then tomorrow I ask the same guys,'' Girardi said.

He plans on keeping the batting order essentially the same, with Derek Jeter leading off and Ichiro Suzuki batting ninth.

``I'll probably keep it the same,'' Girardi said. ``I've got to find nine guys I can put in it. That's the tough part.''