Yanks prospects upstage Teixeira, Youk

TRENTON, N.J. -- On a day where thousands of Yankees fans turned up to catch a glimpse of two rehabbing All-Stars, it was the stars of the future who shone the brightest.

While first baseman Mark Teixeira and third baseman Kevin Youkilis combined to go 0-for-4 in their first outing for Double-A Trenton, center fielder Slade Heathcott broke up a perfect game bid with a solo homer in the fourth inning and right fielder Tyler Austin was 2-for-4 with a two-run shot in the sixth to give the Thunder a 3-1 win over the visiting Erie SeaWolves.

"It was fun. These guys are here and trying to get out of here and get back to their job," said first-rounder Heathcott, the Yankees' No. 4 prospect. "It's just one of those things where you try to learn from what they do and how they approach it, their mind process.

"As an overall at-bat [in the fourth], the first pitch I chased, then I pulled a changeup down the line. Down 1-2, I just thought to myself, that was when I changed my swing in the middle of the AB, changed my stance, just trying to get comfortable. I knew I was down 1-2 and I just told myself there was no reason to panic."

Though 22-year-old Heathcott -- who had just started high school when Teixeira made his big league debut -- had the first hit, fellow outfielder Austin -- a year younger than Heathcott -- delivered what proved to be the decisive blow with a one-out long ball to left field in the sixth.

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Highlights from the game:

Teixeira's at-bats
Youkilis' at-bats
Austin's game-winning blast
Heathcott hits one out

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"I got a good pitch, put a good swing on it and drove it out of the ballpark," said Austin, ranked third in the organization. "I got a 1-0 breaking ball and put a good swing on it. It is a definite confidence booster, and it means a lot to hit a few balls like that, especially big home runs that put us in the lead and ultimately gave us the win.

"[Teixeira and Youkilis] are two of the best guys in the game, on the field and off the field. Great guys -- it's unbelievable to play on the same field and share the same locker room as them. Hopefully I'll get to do it again tomorrow and in New York some day."

As for the veterans, the process was more important than the results, a sentiment confirmed by both Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Thunder manager Tony Franklin after the game.

Batting third in the lineup and playing third base, Youkilis flew out to right field in the first inning, popped up to first base in foul ground in the fourth and walked on four pitches ahead of Austin's sixth-inning blast. Defensively, he snared the only ball hit at him -- Zach Maggard's liner to lead off the third frame.

Teixeira, meanwhile, playing first base and batting behind Youkilis, popped out to short in the second, walked in the fourth and struck out swinging in the sixth. In the field, he made five putouts.

Both players left the game -- attended by 7,395 people -- after seven innings, as planned in advance. Both will be activated Friday as long as there are no problems Thursday.

"It feels great -- it's been feeling great, and I'm excited about playing again," said Teixeira, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time All-Star who expects to get around 45 at-bats between extended spring training and his two-day spell in Trenton before returning to New York

"We've taken a lot of at-bats. We didn't really do too much today, but it's all about health. Health, seeing pitches -- seeing as many pitches as you can in your at-bats is important, and I think we both did that today. I've been anxious to get back since the day I got hurt."

Speaking after the game, Cashman said there are a lot of things to look forward to in this young Thunder lineup.

"It is nice to tell the people and the fans these people will play in New York," he said of Heathcott and Austin. "It is good to have this dialogue with the fans, to tell them they have the chance to do something special.

"They're relatively young and the weather has not been cooperative for anyone in the Northeast here ... but today was the first real beautiful day, and to see these guys turning up the heat when the heat turns up is great."

Unlike Teixeira, 34-year-old Youkilis has now appeared in at least one Minor League game in four of the past five seasons. He made two rehab appearances with Triple-A Pawtucket in each of 2009 (oblique) and 2011 (back), and he made four more starts for Bostons' International League affiliate in 2012 after suffering a lower back strain.

Rehabbing a lumbar sprain, Youkilis had fond memories of returning to Trenton, a place where he hit .344 in 44 Double-A games as a 23-year-old Red Sox prospect in 2002.

"You never want to come back to the Minor Leagues for any reason, but if you're going to come back it's always cool to play in a place where you played when you were younger," he said. "I had a great time here in a short little stint, and for me it brings back a lot of good memories."

Thunder manager Franklin said a number of players on his team have the chance to make similar memories. In addition to Heathcott and Austin, he singled out his pitching staff, outfielder Ramon Flores and infielder Ali Castillo.

"We've hit home runs in eight or nine consecutive games and [Heathcott and Austin] have been a big part of it," Franklin said. "They're swinging the bats well and they're starting to display the talents they have. That ball that Slade hit to left field -- that's not an easy feat. We're going to see a lot of that in the years to come, and Tyler has definitely proven at the lower levels he's a good offensive player."