A-Rod fans twice but is happy with rehab

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- For Alex Rodriguez, two strikeouts didn't equate to a setback Saturday night.

In his second game in as many nights as DH for the Class A Tampa Yankees, Rodriguez was 0-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and two strikeouts against 20-year-old Dunedin Blue Jays righthander Drew Hutchison. He had homered in his first rehab at-bat Friday night.

"Another positive day moving forward," Rodriguez said, his surgically mended right knee heavily wrapped in ice. "Again, any time you don't have a setback is a good day."

Rodriguez originally was set to play third base but said he'll do that in a simulated workout Sunday at the Yankees' minor-league complex in Tampa.

"I thought [another night at DH] was a better, more natural progression for me," said Rodriguez, who could play third Tuesday and Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and join the Yankees in Minnesota on Thursday.

"We've been doing a lot of work down here with [director of player personnel Pat Roessler] and Mark [Littlefield, the head athletic trainer], and I just thought another day of DH was wise."

On a broiling, humid evening, Rodriguez was flummoxed by Hutchison. He fanned on four pitches in his first at-bat.

He worked Hutchison to a full count in the fourth before looking at a 93-mph fastball for strike three. After walking in the sixth, he moved to second on a single, went to third on an error and scored on a forceout. His trip around the basepaths -- more brisk jog than run -- epitomized the cautious pace of this rehab stint.

He grounded to second off righthander Matt Daly to end his night in the seventh and handed his bat to a boy seated next to the Yankees' dugout. He then signed autographs along the third-base line -- with the game in progress -- for five minutes.

"We're just going to let it fly a little bit [this morning in Tampa]," Rodriguez said. "I think I'm facing three or four different pitchers, I'm not sure, and we're going to try to get about 10 at-bats and try to mix in some defense."