BALTIMORE — Of the three Yankees forced out of Tuesday night’s game because of injuries, Alex Rodriguez unquestionably is the sexiest name.
Yet because Rodriguez doesn’t believe his left hamstring knot is serious, Ivan Nova’s right arm problem could be the final blow to a Yankees team that has absorbed too many body shots.
“It’s nothing new,’’ said Mariano Rivera, who watched Nova leave after six innings and Rodriguez and catcher Austin Romine depart in the eighth of a come-from-behind 7-5 victory Tuesday night over the Orioles in front of an announced crowd of 25,697 at Camden Yards. “We have been in this situation the whole year. We need to find a way to get it done.’’
A four-run eighth erased a 4-3 Yankees deficit. Rodriguez started it with his second double and Alfonso Soriano’s second homer of the game — a two-run shot — fueled the comeback. Robinson Cano singled in Rodriguez to tie it and Mark Reynolds, who homered along with Soriano in the sixth, capped the inning with an RBI double.
The victory enabled the Yankees to move within two games of the Rays in the race for the second AL wild-card ticket. The Rays lost to the AL East-leading Red Sox, 2-0, and have dropped eight of 11. The Yankees are three games back of the Rays in the loss column and trail the Indians and Orioles by one-half length in the wild-card chase.
“I am optimistic for [Wednesday],’’ Rodriguez said on the way out of Camden Yards after being examined by a doctor and iced the leg he injured scoring from second on Cano’s single. After sliding into home, Rodriguez got up and limped to the dugout.
“He might be a DH for us [Wednesday],’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Rodriguez, who has 10 hits in his past 23 at-bats (.435). “We have to keep him in there.’’
Though Nova said, “I want to keep pitching,’’ his problem could be the knockout punch to the Yankees’ hopes.
Girardi lifted his hottest pitcher after six innings and 79 pitches because Nova said a lingering triceps problem near the top of the back of the elbow was an issue.
“Not too great,’’ Nova said when asked how he felt. “I got nothing [Tuesday]. My velocity was down the whole game. I don’t know how long it has been, but it’s not the first time. I want to keep pitching; they are taking good care of me. It’s hard, you want to help the team to win.’’
Nova is scheduled to start Sunday night in Fenway Park. If he can’t make it, Girardi’s options are slim. He could turn back to Phil Hughes, who was deleted from the rotation last Saturday, or give the ball to long reliever Adam Warren, who worked a scoreless seventh Tuesday night and earned the win.
Romine, who entered the game in the seventh after Chris Stewart was pinch hit for, left the next inning when he took a foul ball off the mask.
“He probably has a concussion, he is a little dizzy,’’ Girardi said of Romine, who stayed in the game briefly. “When we first went out there, he said he was fine. Then after one hitter, he got nauseous.”
Then there is the 43-year-old Rivera. He was used for two innings Sunday and Girardi asked him to get the final four outs Tuesday night, and he did to post save Nos. 42 in 49 tries.
“You have to be ready for the situation. Right now we have to win,’’ Rivera said of working more than one inning, which he has done in three of the last four appearances. “We won, that’s what counts. I have to be ready for any situation.’’