Teixeira pressed into action after Ackley injures shoulder

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mark Teixeira may not be completely over the neck spasms that hampered him last week, but with the possibility of Dustin Ackley landing on the DL, the switch-hitting first baseman might be forced back into the lineup Monday night against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

“I am in there [Monday] now, definitely,” Teixeira said following Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Rays in which he replaced Ackley at first in the seventh after Ackley jammed his right shoulder diving back into first base in the sixth. “It’s getting a lot better, and hopefully it won’t come back.”

Teixeira, who hasn’t started the past five games, flied out in his only at-bat Sunday.

Ackley stayed behind in Florida Sunday to have an MRI exam on the shoulder.

Joe Girardi said Ackley is a “distinct possibility” for the DL.

“If Ack is down, we have to be a little bit more creative,” Girardi said. “I am not afraid to run [Austin Romine] out there. We have been reluctant to move [Chase] Headley over there. We have done it a couple of times but just because he has been playing third well. You hate to move everyone around, so let’s see what we have after the MRI.”

At this point, the Yankees’ faith in Michael Pineda may be blind, but it still is in place, and so is the struggling pitcher’s spot in the rotation.

“We still believe in Michael,” Girardi said of Pineda, who is 2-6 with a 6.92 ERA in 10 starts. “We are on schedule. We have not made any changes.”

Pineda’s ERA is 49th and last among AL pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the title.

Luis Severino pitched three shutout innings in a minor league rehab start Sunday for Single-A Tampa against Brevard County in a Florida State League game. It was Severino’s rehab assignment since going on the DL May 14 with a strained right triceps.

He allowed two hits and struck out two, but he is not a candidate to replace Pineda in Detroit on Thursday. Even if his strained right triceps does not prove to be a problem, it is likely Severino will require at least two rehab starts.

Utility man Ronald Torreyes started at third in place of the hot-hitting Headley. He went 0-for-3 but robbed Mikie Mahtook of a base hit with a diving stop toward the line in the second inning.

Headley is hitting .339 (19-for-56) in the last 18 games and had 11 hits in his last 29 at-bats (.379).