Sheffield activated from disabled list

The New York Yankees activated right fielder Gary Sheffield from the 15-day day disabled list on Tuesday, and closer Mariano Rivera threw a bullpen session and said he hopes to return this weekend.

Sheffield, who had wrist surgery June 13, did not start against Toronto. Manager Joe Torre said he will start at first base after the Yankees clinch the American League East title. Their magic number was three entering Tuesday’s play.

Rivera, sidelined since Aug. 31 by a muscle strain near his right elbow, threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session. He’ll throw off a mound today.

Rivera wants to pitch in three games before the postseason begins.

First baseman Jason Giambi left the game in the fifth inning with soreness in his left wrist. He had talked about possibly getting a third cortisone shot in the wrist before the game. Giambi was replaced by Craig Wilson.

Before the game, Alex Rodriguez, Giambi and Torre were asked about a “Sports Illustrated” article that portrayed the team as being critical with the way Rodriguez handled his struggles this year.

Giambi is quoted in the article as saying Rodriguez has a “false confidence” and that Torre should “stop coddling him.”

Giambi and Rodriguez both downplayed the negatives on Tuesday.

“I found an enormous amount of support from my teammates,” Rodriguez claimed.

Torre acknowledged meeting with Rodriguez in Seattle in August and telling him to change his demeanor.

“The tone I took to Alex is basically being honest with himself. And what I meant by that was, he had a tough series in Boston … and I like to watch body language, he was making it appear like it was OK,” Torre said.

Gammons will return to work

ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons will file reports from the Minnesota Twins game in Boston tonight, returning to work three months after a brain aneurysm.

A member of the writers’ wing of the Hall of Fame, the 61-year-old Gammons was stricken while driving near his Cape Cod home on June 27 and was airlifted to a Boston hospital. He was released from the hospital July 17.

Banta dies at 81

Jack Banta, who played on the Brooklyn Dodgers with Jackie Robinson and made three relief appearances in the 1949 World Series, died at 81 in Hutchinson, Kan.

Banta, who had heart problems and recently broke his hip, entered a Hutchinson hospice Saturday and died the next day, wife Jackie Banta said.

Former executive Thrift dies

Syd Thrift, a former general manger of the Pittsburgh Pirates who spent nearly a half century in baseball, died at 77 in Baltimore.

He underwent knee replacement surgery Monday in Milford, Del., and died that night, said the Baltimore Orioles, one of many teams for whom he worked. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

Clearing the bases

Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips was injured when a ball bounced off the ground and hit him in the left eye in the first inning against Houston. … Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones was activated from the 15-day disabled list and placed in the starting lineup for the game against Washington. … Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez is scheduled for another examination of his sore left knee that could help determine whether he will be able to play again this season. … Andy Pettitte will missed a scheduled start for the Houston Astros against the Reds to be with his hospitalized father. … The St. Louis Cardinals said closer Jason Isringhausen will have season-ending surgery on his left hip on Thursday.