A-Rod doesn't start, will try to hit 600 at home
The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez pops up in the ninth inning against the Rays, Saturday. (July 31, 2010) Credit: AP
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez's quest for 600 career home runs, it turns out, needed a round-trip ticket back to the Bronx.
Joe Girardi didn't start A-Rod Sunday in the rubber game of this series between baseball's two best teams at Tropicana Field. He wound up entering the game as a pinch hitter for Austin Kearns with two outs in the seventh inning and Curtis Granderson on first base. He struck out looking against Rays starter James Shields, who picked up the win in the Rays' 3-0 victory.
Rodriguez stayed in the game to play third base, but he didn't bat again. Stuck at 599 homers since July 22, when he went deep at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod resumes his pursuit Monday night at home against Toronto. He is 9-for-38 in 43 plate appearances since his last home run and is 3-for-25 in his last seven games.
A-Rod said he felt up to starting Sunday but didn't seem terribly upset by the news that Ramiro Peña would start at third base. "My swing is a little bit out of whack right now," he said. "I'm sure that once it comes, then you get a little bit of a bunch, hit four or five."
Girardi said he notified A-Rod by text message Sunday morning that he wouldn't start. He explained, "He's played 13 days in a row. We've got to try to keep him healthy and strong."
Tropicana Field is one of two remaining ballparks with artificial turf. A-Rod started three straight games on the Rogers Centre turf in Toronto June 4-6, Girardi noted, and wound up suffering a groin injury. Of course, the way the Trop is configured, A-Rod fielded his position and took his at-bats on dirt.
Girardi noted that it was somewhat unusual to rest his cleanup hitter in a game against the AL East's second-place team. "But it's not September 25," he added. "If he got hurt today, people would wonder, 'Why'd you play him 14 days in a row?' "
A-Rod has a .618 OPS (.302 on-base percentage, .316 slugging percentage) since No. 599, yet the Yankees have a 7-4 record in that time. "That's been the good part. We've been winning," he said. "We've been playing well. We've been picked up by different guys."
