Mark Teixeira was in New York for one day last week, helping to escort Prince Harry around town before returning to continue working out in Tampa, Fla. But while he was in the city, Teixeira said that he is still optimistic that he’ll be playing big league games for the Yankees before the month of May is over.

Teixeira announced on Monday via Twitter that he has stepped into a batter’s box against live pitching – it sounds like it happened in Extended Spring Training, and Joe Girardi will hopefully be able to provide the details later today. In any event, it seems to be another step in the right direction.

Felt good to get my first AB's since March. 1-2 with a double and a walk, I'll take it. #Yankees in first place, I'll take that too!—
Mark Teixeira (@teixeiramark25) May 20, 2013

Greetings from the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, where the Yankees and Orioles will open a three-game series tonight at Camden Yards. The weather is getting a little bit warmer and there’s a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, which I must say syncs perfectly with most of the experiences I’ve had here in Charm City over the years.

After being washed out yesterday against the Mariners in the Bronx, CC Sabathia will go through the paces of his routine once more and prepare to face the Orioles’ lineup. He’ll be opposed by a familiar face in veteran Freddy Garcia, and the Yankees should have no trouble absorbing the scouting report on Garcia, knowing full well that he’ll throw the kitchen sink of junk at them tonight in hopes of putting Baltimore in position to win.

Here are the pitching probables for the series against the Orioles:

Monday, May 20, 7:05 PM EDT, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
CC Sabathia, LHP (4-3, 3.19 ERA) vs. Freddy Garcia, RHP (0-2, 5.51)

Tuesday, May 21, 7:05 PM EDT, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Phil Hughes, RHP (2-3, 5.88 ERA) vs. Miguel Gonzalez, RHP (2-2, 4.58 ERA)

Wednesday, May 22, 7:05 PM EDT, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (6-2, 1.99 ERA) vs. Jason Hammel, RHP (5-2, 5.72 ERA)

NEW YORK – Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte was forced to leave his start against the Mariners on Thursday after 79 pitches with an apparent undisclosed injury.

Pettitte appeared to stiffen and wince after throwing his final pitch, a swinging strikeout of Kyle Seager for the second out of the fifth inning.

UPDATE: Pettitte has a tight left trapezius muscle in his upper back, according to the Yankees.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi dashed to the mound and held a fairly lengthy conversation with Pettitte, who shielded his mouth with his glove. Pettitte jogged off the field and was relieved by Shawn Kelley.

Pettitte allowed two runs and four hits in his outing against Seattle, with three walks and five strikeouts. He entered play on Thursday with a 4-2 record and 3.83 ERA in seven starts.

Dellin Betances was born in Washington Heights, grew up on the Lower East Side, pitched high school ball in Brooklyn and – on one glorious afternoon – clutched a seven-dollar ticket in the Yankee Stadium bleachers while David Wells pitched a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins.

Betances’ story brought him back to the Bronx on Thursday, as he was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to help provide some distance to the Yanks’ bullpen. Betances replaces Brett Marshall, who threw 5 2/3 innings of long relief on Wednesday after Phil Hughes was knocked out in the first inning of a 12-2 loss to the Mariners.

As he returned to Yankee Stadium, Betances did so as a full-time reliever. It has been just 11 days since Yankees Minor League pitching guru Gil Patterson told Betances he was moving to the bullpen, and Betances said that he is still adjusting to the role.

“I’ve only came out twice from the bullpen so far. It’s different,” Betances said. “You get an adrenaline rush.It’s fun, you know, coming out of the bullpen and trying to attack guys and throw first-pitch strikes. I enjoy the role. Whatever I’m needed to be, I’m here for.”

The timing of the Yanks’ decision seemed somewhat curious to Betances, who was once tphad just thrown five no-hit innings against the Braves’ top farm club in Gwinnett, but he won’t argue if it helps him stick around in The Show.

“I’m happy to be here and get the opportunity,” Betances said. “I feel confident, I feel like my last five or six appearances have been really good formyself. I feel confidence and I feel like I’m going in the right direction. For myself, I always think I can get back to where I need to be. I feel like I’m real close.”

David Adams will celebrate his 26th birthday by playing third base for the New York Yankees.

The Yankees purchased Adams’ contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, designating infielder Chris Nelson for assignment to make room on the active roster.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he hasn’t seen much of Adams in person, as injuries have kept him from doing much with the big league club in Spring Training, but his reports refer to Adams as “a baseball player” in the mold of Jayson Nix. Adams can play third base, second base and first base for the Yankees, though Adams deadpanned and said that his favorite position is hitting.

You may remember that Adams was, at one point, a piece that kept the Yankees from acquiring Cliff Lee near the Trade Deadline in 2010. The Mariners spotted a red flag in Adams’ medical report, initially thought to be a high ankle sprain and later confirmed to be a fracture, that prompted them to pull a pending deal off the table. Lee went to the Rangers instead when the Yankees balked at including Eduardo Nunez or Ivan Nova in a revised version of the deal.

The Yankees are in Colorado for a three-game series against the Rockies, marking the first game of an eight-game road trip which includes a three-game weekend series at Kansas City and a traditional doubleheader at Cleveland on May 13 (the makeup games for those April 10 and 11 rainouts).

New York just completed a 10-game homestand, going 7-3 against Toronto (4-0), Houston (2-1) and Oakland (1-2). They are 17-8 since 4/7 (the second-best record in the Majors over the stretch behind St. Louis, 18-8) after starting the season 1-4, and have lost just two of their last eight series after dropping their first two series of the season.

Beginning with the Rockies series, the Yankees will play 26 of their next 40 games on the road.

With tonight’s game already underway, here are the pitching matchups for the Rockies series:

Tonight: RHP Hiroki Kuroda (4-1, 2.25) vs. LHP Jorge De La Rosa (2-3, 4.18)
Wednesday: RHP David Phelps (1-1, 5.56) vs. RHP Juan Nicasio (3-0, 4.91)
Thursday: LHP CC Sabathia (4-3, 3.31) vs. LHP Jeff Francis (1-2, 7.27)

The Yankees are 31-17 all-time in Interleague play against the NL West. They’ve lost just three of their 16 series (6/18-20/04 at Los Angeles-NL, 6/19-21/07 at Colorado and 6/22-24/07 at San Francisco).

Here are the highlights from today’s Yankees official game notes:

AT A GLANCE: Today the Yankees will play the final game of a four-game series vs. Toronto at Yankee Stadium… is the fourth game of a 10-game homestand, which also includes games vs. Houston (Mon.-Wed.) and Oakland (Fri.-Sun.)… matches the Yankees’ longest homestand of the season… went 3-3 on their recent six-game road trip at Toronto (4/19-21, went 2-1) and Tampa Bay (4/22-24, went 1-2)… following this homestand, will begin an eight-game road trip at Colorado (5/7-9), Kansas City (5/10-12) and Cleveland (5/13 single-admission doubleheader – makeups for 4/10-11 rainouts).
>Have won three straight games and can match their season-high four-game winning streak (4/7-12) with a victory today.
>The Yankees’ three-game home winning streak is tied for their season-high (also 4/14-17).

RECENT RUN: The Yankees are 13-5 (.722) since 4/7 after starting the year with a 1-4 record… is the second-best winning percentage in the Majors over the stretch, trailing only Boston’s .737 (14-5)… over the span Yankees batters have the fifth-best batting average in the Majors (.270, 168-for-623) with 28 doubles and an MLB-best 27HR, outscoring their opposition 92-62… Yankees pitchers have posted a 3.18 ERA (164.0IP, 58ER) in the 18 games, the third-best mark in the AL (trailing only Texas’ 2.83 and Kansas City’s 3.09) and the fifth-best mark in the Majors.

PASSPORT CONTROL: The Yankees have won six consecutive home games vs. Toronto…additionally are 15-2 at home vs. Toronto, since 5/24/11, 17-4 since the start of 2011, and 28-11 all-time at the current Yankee Stadium (since 2009)… according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Blue Jays’ record at the current Yankee Stadium (11-28, .282) is the worst mark for any Major League team that has played at least 30 games any current Major League venue.
>With a win today, the Yankees’ would have their first four-game sweep of Toronto since 9/18-21/95 at the original Yankee Stadium.
>Have come from behind to win each of the first three games of this series.

BORDER WAR: LF Vernon Wells is batting .440 (11-for-25) with 8R, 3HR and 6RBI in six games against Toronto this season… in his last 13 games against his former team (dating to 9/19/11) is batting .358 (19-for-53) with 12R, 4 doubles, 5HR, 12RBI and 3BB.… is batting .433 (13-for-30) with 3HR, 4RBI and 6BB in eight day games this season.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: The Yankees are 8-1 (.889) in games decided by two or fewer runs, marking the best such winning percentage in the Majors… are 3-0 in one-run games, and are the last team in the Majors not to lose a one-run game.

FOURSIGHT: The Yankees are a Major League-best 13-1 (.929) this season when holding their opponents to four-or-fewer runs… their one loss in such a game this season occurred on Wednesday at Tampa Bay (3-0)… are 13-3 this season when scoring four-or-more runs.

CC Sabathia was very frank after his last outing, in which he essentially said that if this is where his velocity is going to be for the rest of the season, he will find a way to win with it.

“I’m hoping some more velocity comes back. If not, we’ll work with this,” Sabathia said. “I don’t know how many starts or innings, but it’s something everybody is going to go through. We’ll see if this is my time.”

The big left-hander is going for his fourth victory in as many starts tonight against the Rays here at Tropicana Field, and he has done it without the mid-90′s fastball that was firmly in his toolbelt when he came to the Yankees in ’09. Sabathia’s velocity then averaged about 94 mph, but these days he’s working more in the 89-90 range.

“One thing we’ve always said about CC is he knows how to pitch, and he has to continue to do that,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said today. “His changeup becomes very important,his slider and his curveball and his location with his sinker becomes very important. When you don’t have velocity that maybe you once had, sometimes you don’t get away with some of your mistakes. But he has very good command.”

• Update: Ooh. That didn’t go so well. Ryan Roberts homered, Sean Rodriguez legged out an RBI triple and Yunel Escobar hit a two-run shot as Sabathia allowed four runs in a very shaky first inning. Roberts’ homer was on a hanging 0-2 slider. CC’s top speed in the first inning was 90 mph. 

Matt Moore has the ball for Tampa Bay, taking on a lineup that will not include Kevin Youkilis, whose back tightened after taking batting practice.

“He has very good command of his fastball and a very good curveball,” Girardi said of Moore. “So when he leaves one of those fastballs out over the plate, you better not miss it.”

Lineups and game information is available via MLB GameDay. 

ST. PETERSBURG – Yankees first baseman Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch from the team’s lineup on Monday at Tropicana Field as the veteran’s sore lower back continues to be an issue.

Youkilis did not play on Sunday against the Blue Jays in Toronto because of the back, which he said tightened playing on the artificial turf at Rogers Centre on Saturday.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi had Youkilis in his original lineup for Monday, but a change was announced at approximately 6:15 p.m. ET.

Lyle Overbay replaced Youkilis at first base in New York’s lineup against Rays left-hander Matt Moore. Jayson Nix remained in at third base.