A-Rod hitless, but knee passes test

MINNEAPOLIS -- Alex Rodriguez didn't get a hit in his first game since July 7 and couldn't quite handle a ground smash by Joe Mauer.

Still, the third baseman made solid contact a couple of times and, most importantly, his right knee passed a stringent test when Twins leadoff man Ben Revere laid down a sixth-inning bunt that A-Rod fielded cleanly in recording the out.

"It felt good," said Rodriguez, who went 0-for-5. "Definitely a positive day moving forward. Relieved to get the first one behind me and I'm looking forward to Tuesday."

In his first at-bat, Rodriguez battled back to a full count after falling into an 0-and-2 hole. He grounded out sharply to short and did so again in the third. From there Rodriguez popped out and had two fly outs.

"I thought he looked good," hitting coach Kevin Long said. "I thought he swung at strikes, first of all. He was compact, explosive. He missed a couple balls but that's OK. I thought over all he had a pretty good day, other than the numbers saying 0-for-5. I thought he showed a lot of bat speed."

"I was happy with the way I saw the ball," A-Rod said. "I was happy with my balance. I definitely got a lot of good pitches to hit and just missed them by a little bit, but I liked the way I felt up there."

As for Revere's bunt, the leadoff hitter laid down what looked to be a perfect bunt, the ball barely leaving the infield dirt. A-Rod charged in, barehanded the ball and threw a strike to Mark Teixeira, nipping Revere by a step.

"I didn't think he was going to get it, I really didn't with Revere's speed," Joe Girardi said. "That tells me the knee's pretty good."

Rodriguez called it "a good test," and like Girardi noted Revere's quickness out of the box.

"That's a play that I'm going to have to make so it was good to make it," A-Rod said.

In the third eighth Rodriguez bobbled Mauer's ground smash, correctly ruled a hit.

"That's just a tough play," A-Rod said. "A play that could have been made but is definitely a tough play coming off a lefty slicing. Just a play you go down on one knee, try to make it, and it just bounced off my glove a little bit."

Rodriguez worked out here Thursday through Saturday and the first couple of days said he felt a little "tentative" running. He said that was not the case Sunday.

"No, not at all," he said. "Today was a big success, especially because we won the game, most importantly. I got five at-bats, I got some work on the field. For the most part, I liked the way I felt up there and the way I saw the ball. Everything was good to go."