DETROIT -- Yankees infielder Wilson Betemit left Saturday's game at Comerica Park in the fourth inning with a strained right hamstring, and he will be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Facing Tigers right-hander Jeremy Bonderman, Betemit doubled over the head of center fielder Curtis Granderson, scoring Robinson Cano. Betemit appeared to pull up after rounding the first-base bag, and he immediately called time once the play was complete.
"He changed gears before first and second when he saw Granderson fall down," manager Joe Girardi said after the Yankees beat the Tigers, 5-2. "That's when it grabbed."
The 25-year-old Betemit was 5-for-12 since being reinstated from the disabled list on Wednesday, missing 17 team games with corneal conjunctivitis. To replace Betemit on the 25-man roster, the Yankees plan to recall infielder Alberto Gonzalez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Sunday's game.
Betemit was batting .270 with one home run and two RBIs in 10 games for New York this season. Girardi said that no MRI had been scheduled, and that Betemit would travel with the team to St. Petersburg after Sunday's game as it continues its seven-day road trip.
While the Yankees wait for Alex Rodriguez to return from a strained right quadriceps, Morgan Ensberg and Gonzalez will fill in at third base. Girardi said the Yankees would decide on a day-by-day basis which player would start.
The DL has proved to be an all-too-frequent destination for Yankees players as of late. An MRI taken on right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo revealed that he left Friday's game with a mild sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament and a mild strain of his posterior capsule.
The injury for Albaladejo will not require surgery, but he will need more than two weeks of rehabilitation at the club's Spring Training facility in Tampa, Fla. He left the team after Friday's game to have the MRI taken in New York.
The Yankees are also operating with catcher Jorge Posada plus pitchers Brian Bruney, Phil Hughes and Jeff Karstens on the DL
"Obviously, you go through streaks that you don't enjoy going through," Girardi said. "It's opportunities for other people to shine."
