Austin fails to provide spark after Carter plan stalls out

Needing more production at first base, the Yankees pulled the plug on the Chris Carter experiment. They designated for assignment the reigning National League home run champ after Friday’s win and called up Tyler Austin from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That didn’t go any better. Austin went hitless in the Yankees’ 8-1 loss to Texas and was shaken up when a baserunner collided with his wrist. Safe to say it wasn’t the return to the majors he had hoped for — or the kind of jump-start the Yankees need with starter Greg Bird still out.

“It wasn’t ideal,” Austin said. “I let the game speed up on me a little bit, but that’s part of it. I’ll come back [Sunday] and hopefully have better results. That’s going to happen. … It’s al- ways exciting. I had a really good time out there and just not the result I wanted.”

Bird, 24, has been out since early May with a bone bruise in his ankle. He had a setback in his minor league rehab stint and has not started running. After getting a cortisone shot earlier this week, the Yankees will see Sunday how Bird has responded before determining when and where he will resume his rehab.

Until then, manager Joe Girardi said Austin is his first baseman. Austin, who started the season on the 60-day disabled list with a fractured left ankle suffered in February, was 0for-3 with two strikeouts and left two men on base.

“I think he was probably trying to do a little too much today,” Girardi said. “I just think his approach a lot of times is the other way, and he wasn’t able to do that.”

The 25-year-old — who got a call from SWB manager Al Pedrique between 12:45 and 1 a.m. Saturday — replaced Carter, who was designated after he went 0-for-4 Friday.

Carter clubbed 41 homers last year for Milwaukee, and the Yankees gave him a oneyear, $3.5 million deal to provide veteran insurance at first base for Bird. Carter struggled, hitting .204 with eight home runs and 70 strikeouts in 167 at-bats.

“We just felt it was time,” Girardi said. “I really believe that Chris gave us everything he had and worked really hard and tried to make adjustments. He just never seemed to get on track, and it’s unfortunate.

“... [He was] very well liked in the clubhouse, but we felt Tyler had started to swing the bat pretty well and it was maybe time to give him an opportunity.”