Without Jeter, Yanks Look to Nix and Nunez While Derek Jeter was at the hospital having more tests done on his fractured left ankle, Jayson Nix and Eduardo Nunez were the first Yankees out on the field early Sunday afternoon, taking ground balls as they prepared to replace one of the most celebrated players in major league history. Jeter broke his ankle chasing a ground ball early Sunday morning in the 12th inning of the Yankees' 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. He is out for the rest of the playoffs. The initial prognosis was a three-month recovery period, with Jeter back healthy for spring training in 2013. Doctors should be able to determine after Sunday's tests whether Jeter did other damage to the foot and if surgery will be required. Nix said Jeter sent him a text message of support on Sunday. "It just said good luck, he believes in me, and go get 'em," Nix said. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said he could not minimize the loss of Jeter, who led the majors with 216 hits in the regular season and, entering Sunday's games, was tied for the most hits in the postseason with nine. But Girardi noted the team had suffered other seemingly devastating injuries and still won the American League East and advanced to the A.L.C.S. The Yankees recovered from a season-ending injury to Mariano Rivera in May, Girardi pointed out, with Rafael Soriano filling in and recording 42 saves. He gave reporters a preview of what he would tell the team before Sunday's Game 2 in order to spur the Yankees. "You never want to lose a Derek Jeter," Girardi said. But we didn't want to lose Mariano Rivera either. What did Soriano do, get 45 saves? Pretty good. I'm not going to devalue Derek Jeter and what he means to this club. But a lot of people thought we were done when Mo went down. And a lot of people thought we were done in August. But the team rose to the occasion and won 95 games in a very tough American League East. We have to find a way to get it done. Girardi reconfigured his lineup for Sunday by basically moving everyone up one spot in the batting order and inserting Nix into the ninth slot, playing shortstop. Ichiro Suzuki was leading off for Game 2, Robinson Cano was the second hitter, Mark Teixeira was third, and so on. Nunez, a backup infielder who hits better than Nix but is not as sure-handed in the field, was added to the A.L.C.S. roster in Jeter's place. Nix, who has a .214 career batting average, hit .243 in 177 at-bats for the Yankees this year, with 4 home runs and 24 runs scored. Nunez went 11 for 38 (.289) after being recalled on Sept. Girardi said he was hoping any number of players might rise to the challenge. He said he thought Alex Rodriguez - who has slumped so badly (2 for 19) in the postseason that he has been pinch-hit for in the last three games he has played and was benched all together for another game - would be one of them. "I think the great ones always want to rise to the occasion," Girardi said. And I think they want to show why they are considered the great ones. As for the injury, Girardi said Jeter needed to keep the foot elevated, so he said he did not expect Jeter to join the team at the stadium on Sunday. He said it might be difficult for Jeter to travel to Detroit with the team for Games 3, 4 and 5, if Game 5 is necessary. Jeter had been playing with a bone bruise in the same ankle for weeks and then fouled several pitches off it during Game 2 of the Yankees' division series against Baltimore. General Manager Brian Cashman said he thought the previous injuries contributed to the fracture, which left Jeter lying helpless on the infield dirt after grabbing Jhonny Peralta's grounder in the 12th. Asked if Jeter had taken medicinal injections in the ankle in order to play, Girardi simply smiled. But Girardi said he thought the injury might have been the result of Jeter's favoring the ankle and foot, which could have forced him to step differently than normal. Fatigue could also be a contributing factor. Jeter, 38, had played every inning of the Yankees' six playoff games, and three of the last four went at least 12 innings, without a day off in between. Jeter had not been held out of a game since Sept. 19, in the midst of a grueling chase for the A.L. East title. Joe Torre, a former Yankees manager who was Jeter's skipper for 12 years, was at Game 1 and was in the training room with Jeter after he was helped off the field and had X-rays. Torre said Jeter took the news with his signature stoicism. "He wasn't talking last night," Torre said. He really didn't say anything.