O AKLAND — A MRI on Nick Swisher’s left leg confirmed the Yankees’ original diagnosis, with the test revealing a mild strain of his hip flexor.
“He’s still day-to-day,” Joe Girardi said Saturday. “He’s not going to play tomorrow and I don’t know if we’ll see him in Seattle. We’ll just see how he responds to treatment.”
PARKER OUTDUELS HUGHES IN YANKEES’ THIRD STRAIGHT LOSS TO A’S
Swisher wasn’t surprised to hear the results of the MRI, although he admitted to feeling some relief after learning the injury wasn’t more severe than expected. “Hearing that, it just puts your mind at ease,” Swisher said. “We know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
Earlier in the day, Swisher said his leg felt “tight,” but he was walking around the clubhouse without much of a limp.
“I feel like I know my body pretty well,” Swisher said. “In situations like that, you know when something really goes or when something kind of gets nicked a little bit. I feel it’s hopefully just a little strain and then just kind of day-to-day from here. I don’t know what the results say, but I don’t think it’s going to be anything super serious.”
Dewayne Wise went 0-for-3 in Swisher’s place Saturday night.
WALK-OFF WONDERS
Brandon Moss’ walk-off single Friday night marked the fifth time in the A’s last 10 home games that they had won on their final swing of the bat, giving them 10 such wins this season.
The Yankees had 15 walk-off wins in their 2009 World Series season, with the postgame pie-in-the-face becoming one of the trademarks of that club. The A’s have adopted their own pie tradition, although theirs also includes a Gatorade bath.
What can a slew of late-inning comebacks do for a young team such as the A’s, who have seen 10 different players deliver the game-winners?
“I think it gives them a lot of confidence if they’re down late in the game that they’re going to come back instead of saying, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Girardi said. “I think it’s the difference that you feel as a player, the ‘I don’t know if we can get to this closer; he’s been so good.’ They probably have the feeling, ‘Keep it close, guys, and we have a shot.”