MINNEAPOLIS -- It turns out the Yankees' Mark Teixeira was given more than just rest to help him recover from an injury to his right wrist that has affected his swing since he suffered the injury diving for a ball on Aug. 27 in Chicago.
Joe Girardi revealed shortly before the start of Wednesday night's ALDS Game 1 against the Minnesota Twins that the slugging first baseman was given a cortisone shot in the base of his right thumb on Sept. 20.
"It encouraged me that after he got the shot, he seemed to be swinging the bat a lot better," Girardi said. "The danger part for him is when he dives after a ground ball. His instincts are always going to tell him to dive. You hope that it doesn't happen a whole lot here."
At the time of the injury, Teixeira had come out of the early-season slump that saw him hit .136 for the month of April. But since the injury, he has slid back somewhat; he hit just .232 with three HRs and 12 RBI for the month of September, and went 2-for-14 in the season-ending three-game series in Boston.
"The shot helped a little bit," Teixeira said in the dugout after batting practice Wednesday. "It's something I can play through. It's something I've been playing through for a month now."
Wallace Matthews covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com.