Broken leg sidelines Yankees’ Mark Teixeira for season

Mark Teixeira will miss the rest of the season after tests revealed the New York Yankees first baseman has a fractured right leg.

Teixeira fouled a ball off his shin Aug. 17 and has started only once since. He had trouble running in that game and was not improving much, so the Yankees sent him for a third round of tests Friday that finally showed a fracture.

Though not entirely unexpected, it’s certainly a blow to the Yankees at an important time in their push for the playoffs. New York was 1 1/2 games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East going into their four-game series Friday night. The Yankees have a comfortable lead in the wild card race.

Rookie first baseman Greg Bird will keep filling in for Teixeira. Bird was batting .241 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 83 at-bats.

Etc.

Detroit Tigers General Manager Al Avila released a statement Friday amid reports that the team had already decided to fire Manager Brad Ausmus after what has turned into a lackluster season.

“I reconfirmed with (owner) Mr. (Mike) Ilitch and manager Brad Ausmus this morning that these evaluations are on-going and decisions in any of these areas will be made by the end of the season,” Avila said as the Tigers prepared for a game in Cleveland. ...

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. is back in the starting lineup after going on the disabled list in early August with a broken left hand. ... New York Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen was back with the Mets on Friday, one day after being hospitalized in Atlanta with a racing heartbeat. The team said the issue “corrected itself” after he spent one night in the hospital.