A good day for Alex Rodriguez turns sour in ninth

The boxscore would indicate that Alex Rodriguez had a pretty good day -- 2-for-5 with a two-run homer -- but what fans will remember about yesterday's game is that he popped up with the bases loaded to end the Yankees' 10-8 loss to the Angels.

With three runs already home in the ninth, Rodriguez batted against righthander Kevin Jepsen, who fired a 98-mph fastball and got A-Rod to pop to first on a 2-and-2 pitch. Rodriguez was visibly angry as he returned to the dugout.

"I took some great swings, felt good about them, lousy result," said Rodriguez, who ended his homerless streak at 49 at-bats with his two-run blast in the first, an opposite-field shot that tied the score at 2. "It was an awesome situation. It's exactly what you want. Jeter and Curtis and other guys before them just did an awesome job to keep the inning going, the rally going, and I put a good swing on it and just popped it up."

After Raul Ibañez's hard takeout slide prevented a double play and kept the inning alive, Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson drew walks to force home a run and set the stage for A-Rod.

Rodriguez singled in the third, giving him hits in four straight at-bats, and went to third on Robinson Cano's single. But Jered Weaver picked off Cano, and after shortstop Erick Aybar tagged him out, he fired home to nail A-Rod for an inning-ending double play.

Rodriguez, who played third base Sunday, has started 22 games at DH, and his batting average as a DH (.353, 30-for-85, three homers) is 100 points higher than when he plays third (.243, 56-for-230, 11 homers). Before his two hits as the DH Saturday, he was hitless in eight straight at-bats and had two hits in his previous 17 at-bats.

"I kind of peeked up at the scoreboard the other day and I saw the numbers [at DH] were pretty good," he said. "I don't see anything to it. I love playing third base and I feel pretty good. My legs feel great."

SEE PHOTOSFeb. 17, 2004: Yankees introduce A-Rod

Though Rodriguez's at-bats as a DH are a much smaller sample than his at-bats as a third baseman, Joe Girardi is conscious of the statistical reality.

"It could be a weird coincidence or there could be something to it, I'm not sure yet," Girardi said. "It is a smaller sample size, but I am well aware of it."

Eric Chavez was the DH Sunday until the ninth, when Andruw Jones, representing the tying run, pinch hit and struck out. Getting Chavez, who has played 21 games at third, some time at DH is important to Girardi, who noted that there could be a logjam at DH once Brett Gardner returns.

"I'm not to that point yet, but there's a chance you'll see him DH another day on this homestand," Girardi said of Rodriguez. "Just continue to move forward and see how it plays out. If and when we do get Gardy back, that could change some things a little bit around here because then your DH is probably more likely to be Raul.''