Alex Rodriguez was slumping in every way imaginable — with runners in scoring position, home runs and overall production.
But, yesterday, A-Rod finally got going again.
“He’s going to be fine,” Mark Teixeira said after Rodriguez homered, walked and reached base three times in yesterday’s 6-2 Yankee loss in the second game of the first Subway Series at the new Yankee Stadium. “He’s the least of my worries or anybody’s worries.”
Still, A-Rod entered yesterday in a 2-for-18 rut, his average down to .233. He’d delivered only one homer in his last 18 games. And he had gotten just one hit in his last 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Yesterday, though, Rodriguez was one of the only players in pinstripes to do any damage — well, other than Andy Pettitte. A-Rod launched a solo homer in his first at-bat during the second inning — his first home run in a week — then walked, was hit by a pitch and struck out in his other turns.
Of course, Rodriguez’s defining moment in this series still remains Friday’s should-have-been-game-ending pop-up — the one Luis Castillo dropped. But against Fernando Nieve in the second inning yesterday, A-Rod cracked a towering shot to left, his ninth homer of the year. He’s just one longball away from tying Yankee great Reggie Jackson’s 563 homers for 11th all-time.
A-Rod had been so bad lately that in Friday’s ninth inning, the Mets intentionally walked Teixeira — putting the potential winning run on — to face him. But despite Rodriguez’s struggles, Joe Girardi insisted he didn’t think pitchers would work Teixeira more carefully.
“I don’t think so. At any time a hitter can get hot. A-Rod can certainly get hot,” Girardi said. “If you do it on a consistent basis, you are going to get hurt.”
