Mark Teixeira sent for MRI on right knee after it locks up

BALTIMORE -- New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left the Yanks'6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioleson Friday night with right knee discomfort and was sent to a hospital for an MRI.

Teixeira, who did not take the field for the bottom of the third inning, was examined by an Orioles team doctor at Camden Yards before being sent for the test. After the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he didn't have results of the MRI yet.

"It's something he's dealt with before," Girardi said. "For whatever reason, it started locking up tonight. We'll get it checked out and we'll know soon."

Teixeira, 36, is struggling. He has a .179 batting average and just three hits in his past 43 at-bats. He grounded out in the second inning. He has just three home runs this season and has not hit one since April 13, a span of 141 at-bats.

This is the latest in a series of injuries that have limited Teixeira's playing time the past four seasons. Last week, Teixeira missed four games because of a neck injury that was treated with a cortisone shot. A broken leg in 2015 cost him 51 games, and he missed all but 15 games in 2013 after undergoing surgery on the tendon sheath in his right wrist.

Earlier this week, the Yankees lost Teixeira's backup at first base when Dustin Ackley suffered a dislocated shoulder while diving into first base in a game Sunday in Tampa. Ackley underwent surgery Friday and is lost for the season, although Girardi said he expects Ackley to return for spring training next year.

Rookie Robert Refsnyder, who has played most of his games at second base and in the outfield, was rushed into emergency duty at first base when Teixeira left the game Friday. Refsnyder didn't have a hit in three at-bats.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.