Alex Rodriguez couldn’t help but hear the ovation from the crowd during his seventh-inning at-bat.
“I thought it was a fan or something that came on the field,” he said after the Yankees won the AL East and clinched the top spot in the American League by beating the Red Sox, 14-2, last night at the Stadium. “I knew it wasn’t for me, because those cheers were way too loud.”
He was right. The 47,393 fans in The Bronx had just noticed the final score from St. Petersburg, where the Rays beat Baltimore, 4-1, assuring the Yankees of the division title.
Rodriguez hasn’t given anyone much to get excited about since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 3. But last night, he went 2-for-3 and his fifth-inning double was his first extra-base hit in 67 at-bats, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Though Rodriguez’s month-long slump is likely a concern for many, the third baseman said he’s OK.
“I know how to get it done,” Rodriguez said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be fine.”
The Yankees will need him to be more productive in the postseason than he has been since returning from a fractured left wrist a month ago. Last night, Rodriguez scored twice, but hasn’t shown the power he typically has shown throughout his career.
Winning a division title — and Robinson Cano’s recent hot streak — has taken some of the pressure off Rodriguez, and the third baseman said he is confident the offense is clicking well enough.
“I think the diversity of our offense right now is something that’s very exciting,” said Rodriguez, who finished the season with just 18 homers and 57 RBIs. “Guys like Ichiro [Suzuki] and [Eduardo] Nunez change the dimension of it. Home runs are nice, but there are a lot of things that we have to do other than hit home runs that I think are going to pay dividends for us in October.”
Rodriguez said the heated stretch run it will be good for the team in the playoffs.
“When I came back in Tampa, I said it was going to be the biggest blessing for us that we have to play good baseball,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think we’ve ever been to [Game] 162 not knowing [our fate]. You want to go into October playing your best baseball and we did what we had to do. We haven’t accomplished anything, but we got the first step out of the way.’’