Back spasms sideline Rodriguez
SEATTLE - Alex Rodriguez apparently injured more than his left elbow when he got hit with a pitch Wednesday.
Rodriguez, who missed Thursday's game, was in Joe Girardi's original lineup Friday, batting fourth and playing third, but was a late scratch. The reason, Girardi said, was back spasms. "Center of my back, up top a little bit," Rodriguez said before the game.
Jerry Hairston Jr. played third and batted eighth. Hideki Matsui, who had two home runs among his four hits and drove in five runs in Thursday's 11-1 win, moved up a spot and hit cleanup.
Rodriguez said he's felt the spasms the last two days, "especially morning and nights."
He thought the spasms stemmed from the suddenness of the drop to his knees when he was hit in the left elbow in the 11th inning Wednesday. "I kind of braced myself when I went down," he said, surmising the action tweaked his back.
It wasn't something he felt until "maybe an hour after the game," Rodriguez said. He pointed to his elbow, still slightly swollen. "I was thinking more about this," he said.
Rodriguez said he has not tried to swing a bat since arriving in Seattle but thought the elbow, while still sore, would have allowed him to play Friday.
Extra bases
Melky Cabrera has played every game in centerfield since Brett Gardner went on the DL with a broken left thumb July 26. Girardi said Cabrera will get a day off "soon," with Hairston filling in . . . There are encouraging signs that the Yankees are close to an agreement with their first-round draft pick, centerfielder Slade Heathcott. A person familiar with the negotiations said he could get a signing bonus of more than $2 million. Major League Baseball's recommended bonus for Heathcott's draft position is $1 million.
With Ken Davidoff
