Girardi no fan of Blue Jays' sign language

TORONTO -- Even though Joe Girardi stopped short of accusing the Blue Jays of stealing signs with off-the field devices, the Blue Jays believe the Yankees manager had them in mind yesterday.

Thursday night, Yankees catcher Russell Martin said Blue Jays runners on second base were telling the hitters what was coming and admitted Toronto was among the teams that are good at it.

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Friday night, Martin wore a path to the mound to talk with Freddy Garcia and change the signs.

Everybody in a Yankees uniform said stealing signs from second base and on the field was part of the game and didn't have a problem with it.

Then, before yesterday's 4-1 Yankees win, Girardi said there were "certain ballparks" where the home team gets help via off-the-field avenues.

"If you feel it's coming from besides a player on the field, I do have an issue with that," Girardi said.

Asked if he was accusing the Blue Jays of possibly using a camera or somebody in the seats, Girardi said he wasn't.

However, with what went on in the first two games, it was easy to see why the Blue Jays believed Girardi was talking about them.

"I have no idea what he's talking about," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "We're struggling to get to a .500 record at home."

The Blue Jays are 21-23 at Rogers Centre.

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Mark Teixeira went 1-for-5 yesterday and is in a 5-for-26 funk that lowered his average to .240. That is the lowest since he was hitting .226 on April 19.

"It's been one of the most satisfying and frustrating years," Teixeira said. "From home runs and RBIs it feels great, but those extra hits aren't coming. Before the [All-Star] break I didn't feel good. A little fatigue had settled in. But I feel good now."

Despite having driven in three runs in 11 July games, Teixeira has a team-high 66 RBIs. He is tied with Curtis Granderson for the Yankees lead in homers with 25.

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Rafael Soriano completed his third batting practice session yesterday in Tampa without a problem and is slated to start a minor league rehab assignment there Tuesday.

Ideally, the Yankees would like for him to pitch Tuesday and then appear in consecutive games before coming off the disabled list. However, they might feel two games is enough and activate him.

Because Soriano was signed to a three-year, $35 million deal to be the eighth-inning arm, there is a chance he will return as Mariano Rivera's primary setup man.