NEW YORK(AP)– Mark Teixeira failed to get in on the fun on Monday. He made up for it a night later.
Teixeira homered and drove in four runs, Adam Warren pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 Tuesday to send the AL champions to their first three-game skid this season.
Teixeira was the only Yankees’ starter without a hit during their 14-1 rout of Kansas City on Monday, which stopped a six-game losing streak. He had two important extra-base hits as New York won consecutive games for the first time since May 10-11.
“You want to back up a win like yesterday with another good performance,” Teixeira said. “Fourteen runs is nice, but if you lose the next night, you’re kind of back to where you started. Getting two in a row was big for us.”
Warren (3-3) was perfect until Mike Moustakas beat out a hit to second baseman Stephen Drew on the outfield grass in right-center with one out in the fourth. The only other hit he allowed was Paulo Orlando’s first major league homer in the sixth.
Lifted after 6 1/3 innings, Warren struck out five without walking a batter in the best of his 12 big league starts. He’s pitched at least 6 1/3 innings in each of his last three starts.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable in this role,” Warren said. “I feel like I’m starting to get on a roll a bit, and I’m starting to get more confidence out there and I feel like I can get deeper in games.”
Teixeira connected off Jason Vargas (3-2) for a two-run shot in the first — giving the Yankees 10 first-inning runs against Kansas City in the series — and doubled in two more in the fifth against Joe Blanton. The switch-hitter has more homers (14) than singles this year (13).
Teixeira advanced to third on the double when center fielder Lorenzo Cain bobbled the ball for an error and scored on Chase Headley’s sacrifice fly, caught by Gold Glover Alex Gordon with a tumbling catch on the sinking liner.
Cain made a leaping catch in front of the wall for the third out of the inning, and Teixeira stood in the dugout with his hand on his head and mouth agape, stunned.
Vargas was activated off the disabled list to make the start, taking the spot of Danny Duffy, who went on the DL Monday with biceps tendinitis. Vargas was on a 75-pitch limit and manager Ned Yost stuck to it, pulling the left-hander after four innings, one pitch over the set ceiling. He struck out six and gave up four hits in his first outing since May 5.
I thought coming back off the DL, he was pretty darn sharp,” Yost said. “Just one pitch, he tried to go down and away and it kind of ran back middle-middle to Teixeira. But six punch-outs in four innings, he threw the ball really well.”
Vargas has not beaten the Yankees in eight starts and nine appearances, dropping to 0-5.
Yankees reliever Dellin Betances extended his streak of not allowing a hit to 31 batters by striking out the side in the eighth. He’s walked two and yielded a sacrifice fly in the run.
