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NEW YORK -- Mark Teixeira rounded first base, raised his right arm in triumph and headed on a celebratory circle of the bases. New York Yankees fans called him out for a curtain call.I remember my first one, he said, and this may be the last.In the final weeks of a 14-year big league career, Teixeira broke open the game with a fourth-inning grand slam, and the surprising Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5 on a soggy Friday night to extend their winning streak to six.Matching their longest streak this season, the Yankees (75-65) closed within one game of Baltimore and Detroit for the second AL wild card.We can taste it a little bit, Teixeira said. Were hungry right now.In an unfamiliar role of chaser after a 9-17 start, New York has moved a season-high 10 games over .500 with an unexpected spurt that followed the release of Alex Rodriguez and the trades of Carlos Beltran, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Ivan Nova.Gary Sanchez, one of the Baby Bombers brought up from the minors as part of the youth movement, hit his 12th home run in 31 games, a drive into Monument Park behind the center-field fence in the third. The catcher also picked off a runner at second base from his knees.In a 1-for-17 slump and playing with a bulging disk in his neck and cartilage tear in his right knee, Teixeira started for just the fourth time this month. He needs 90-120 minutes with trainers to prepare for a start, a routine that includes acupuncture, soft tissue massage, laser therapy, ultrasound and hot rub. And the Yankees want to give time at first base to rookie Tyler Austin.Manager Joe Girardi looks at matchups and checks on Teixeiras health before deciding who starts.I have to watch his knee. I have to watch his neck, Girardi said. Sometimes day games after night games are tough,Teixeira doubled off the left-field wall in the third against Blake Snell (5-8) and scored on a wild pitch. With New York ahead 3-2 in the fourth and two outs, the 36-year-old switch-hitter took a fastball away from reliever Kevin Jepsen for a called strike, then watched a changeup hit the dirt.In my mind, Im like, hes going fastballs away, Teixeira said. I said if he makes that same pitch, fastball away, Im going to get out there.He got his bat head out early and drove a 94 mph fastball into the Yankees bullpen in right-center for his 12th home run this season, the 406th of his career, and his 11th big league slam.I didnt know how many more grand slams I had left in me, he said.There were stoppages of 21 minutes in the fourth and 22 minutes in the sixth caused by brief light rain. As a downpour began in the ninth, umpires stopped play with a 2-2 count on Brad Miller after singles by Kevin Kiermaier and Evan Longoria off Dellin Betances put runners at the corners.Betances stayed in after a 51-minute delay and struck out Miller. Logan Morrison hit an RBI single, and Betances fanned Stephen Souza Jr. at 12:11 a.m. for his career-best 10th save.I ran a bike for a little bit, got stretched, put some red-hot on my arm and just made sure I stayed as loose as I can, Betances said.Given a 7-2 lead, Yankees starter Michael Pineda lasted just 4 2/3 innings. When Girardi came to the mound with runners at the corners following a walk and an infield hit, Pineda avoided eye contact as he handed the ball to his manager, then walked slowly to the dugout as Chasen Shreve relieved.Im a little surprised, Pineda said. A little frustration.New York was ahead 3-0 before Morrison and Souza hit consecutive home runs in the fourth. Tampa Bay scored twice in the sixth before Adam Warren (2-1) threw a called third strike past Logan Forsythe. Tyler Clippard got three straight popouts with two on in the eighth.With each passing game, the Yankees sense they have a chance to reach the playoffs. Teixeira wants his finale to be in the postseason.Im emptying the tank, he said. I want to be a big part of this team ... whether its every other night, every third night, whatever it is.SMALL CROWDThe Yankees drew 30,194 after 27,532 on Tuesday and 27,631 on Thursday. Before the homestand, New York had topped 30,000 for every home game since September 2004.The landscape has changed a little bit. Some of the players the people used to come out and see a lot are no longer here, Girardi said. Some of these kids will build a reputation where people are going to get really excited. But part of it is school, too. I mean, that happens. So it will take some time.UP NEXTRHP Masahiro Tanaka (12-4) starts for the Yankees on Saturday against RHP Chris Archer (8-17). Tanaka is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last six starts; Archer leads the major leagues in losses and strikeouts (211). Ryan Johansen Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Kyle Turris Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Roman-josi-predators-jersey/ . JOHNS, N. Mattias Ekholm Jersey . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Yannick Weber Predators Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Coaches Billy Walsh and Kay Koroma realize the daunting nature of the task they face at USA Boxing. Once the gold standard of the Olympic sport, the American men fell to the nadir of a medal-free trip to London four years ago.It got so bad at the last two Olympics that when American fighters faced trouble, they would often look to the stands -- where their fathers or home coaches were screaming to them -- instead of listening to the U.S. coach in their corner.Walsh and Koroma have the attention of the American team this time around, and the results are already quite encouraging.Lightweight Carlos Balderas unanimous decision over Japans Daisuke Narimatsu on Tuesday pushed the U.S. team to a surprising 4-0 at the Olympics. Light flyweight Nico Hernandez also won his first two fights, but middleweight Charles Conwell took the Americans first loss Tuesday night, losing to Indias Vikas Krishan.Theres no prizes been given out yet, but were very happy, Walsh said. This team is on a roll, and theres good momentum. These two guys are in a position where theyre one shot away from a medal, which is a fantastic achievement.Four years after a nine-man American team won only five fights in London and failed to bring home any medals for the first time ever, the current six-man U.S. team has already won four times before four of its fighters even step in the ring.In 2012, Errol Spence was the only American man even to reach the Olympic quarterfinals by winning two bouts. Hernandez and Balderas have already done it in the first four days, returning a bit of respect to the nation that still has the most total boxing medals in Olympic history.I think we probably shut up a couple of people, said Koroma, a Virginia-based amateur coaching veteran. These kids are more mature than the elite athletes weve had representing the USA before. They want this more. Theyre more hungry. They study this. Its their moment, and theyre going to run with it.Walshs job title designates him as the womens head coach because thats how USA Boxing procured the funds to hire the longtime head of the Irish national team, but he coaches all eight American bboxers in Rio.dddddddddddd Koroma is USA Boxings associate coach and a key mentor to the men, but he is also the personal coach of top bantamweight Shakur Stevenson, the Americans top medal hope heading into the games.As long as you trust one coach, we can all come together as one, Koroma said. If one coach says something, the other coaches go along with it and we run with it. Billy might have a game plan and I might have a game plan. Billy might start his game plan off, and I might throw something in. Ive known all the kids since they were like 8 years old, so having that relationship, they know I have their best interests at heart.That trust is a major factor in any boxing coachs success, and Americans were shockingly uninterested in their national team coaches advice at previous Olympics. They turned to the stands for advice when things got tough in London and Beijing.Walsh, whose Irish team won an impressive four medals in London, is trying to counter that instinct by building trust with the fighters home camps. Most American boxers personal coaches -- who are usually their relatives -- visited Colorado Springs while the U.S. team prepared for Rio.They come to the camp and they see the type of things Im teaching them, Walsh said. I tell them, `I feel this is how we can get better. I want you to go back to your gym and practice this. I show them the type of stuff that we do, and when theyve seen their performances, they know it works. I think theyll buy into it for these first few months, anyway.Earlier this summer, Walsh staged a multi-nation training camp in Colorado Springs, bringing in fighters from Azerbaijan, France and elsewhere. Its a common practice for top teams in Europe and elsewhere, but rare for Americans.We were sparring every day with different styles, and thats what got us here, Balderas said.Hernandez and Balderas both made key strategic adjustments during their bouts at the U.S. coaches advice -- something that seems simple, yet hardly ever happened at the previous two Olympics. ' ' '