MLB

Yankees lose to Royals, third straight

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was no way the night was going to get better for the Yankees after Mariano Rivera tore the ACL in his right knee.

The shocking evening also included a 4-3 loss to the lowly Royals on Thursday night in front of 19,590 at Kauffman Stadium.

After watching Rivera tear up his knee shagging fly balls during batting practice, the Yankees bats showed more life than they did Wednesday at home but not enough to avoid a third straight loss.

“We had a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t get the hits,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of his revamped lineup that went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners.

The Yankees have scored six runs in the past four games.

David Phelps, who replaced struggling Freddy Garcia in the rotation, allowed two runs and six hits in four innings and was removed after throwing 85 pitches.

The Yankees (13-12) threatened in the ninth against Royals closer Jonathan Broxton when Derek Jeter (4-for-5) opened with a single and Curtis Granderson walked. But Mark Teixeira, who drove in two runs after being elevated from fifth to third in the order, hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

With Jeter representing the potential tying run on third, Alex Rodriguez grounded out to third to end it.

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Andy Pettitte likely will pitch again Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but it wasn’t known if it was going to be the veteran’s final minor league rehab start before re-entering the Yankees rotation.

“The very least, one more. I saw him at Trenton and he needed at least two, if not three,” GM Brian Cashman said in a radio interview. “His next start was an extended spring [on Monday] and he got his pitch count up. That will be two starts from when I saw him. He’s just building endurance, but he looked good.”

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Brett Gardner will test his strained right elbow by hitting in the indoor cage today.

“Cage (today) and get on the field (Saturday),’’ said Gardner, who was eligible to come off the DL Thursday but didn’t after feeling a little discomfort swinging Tuesday.

It’s likely that when Gardner is ready to play in a game he will be sent out on a brief minor league rehab assignment.

“We will see how the cage goes,’’ Gardner said.

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Nick Swisher took batting practice indoors for the first time since leaving Monday night’s game with a left hamstring injury.

He isn’t expected to return to the lineup until Tuesday, although Girardi said, “Let’s see how the next couple of days go.’’

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Eric Chavez was released from the hospital and placed on the seven-day DL with whiplash and a concussion.

“He was a lot clearer,’’ Girardi said of the third baseman who suffered the injury diving for a ball in the fifth inning Wednesday night.

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Utilityman Jayson Nix was promoted from SWB to replace Chavez. Nix started in left field. He went 0-for-3.

“I have played 10 to 15 games in the outfield in the big leagues. I don’t have a lot of experience, but I am comfortable,’’ said Nix, who played left field for SWB two games ago.

Nix was signed to a minor league contract during the winter and was slowed in spring training by a calf injury that limited him to eight games for SWB.