Alex Rodriguez went through conditioning drills, swung a bat with one hand and threw across the infield yesterday.
Rodriguez is on the disabled list with a fractured left hand and weeks away from being ready to come off the shelf.
“He is doing conditioning and throwing and doing everything he can to stay in shape,’’ manager Joe Girardi said yesterday. “When it comes time to swing a bat, it shouldn’t be long.’’
Rodriguez could return in mid-September.
Though the Yankees miss Rodriguez’ right-handed presence in the middle of the lineup, Eric Chavez and Jayson Nix were hitting a combined .385 (10-for-26) with three homers and seven RBIs as starters in the nine games Rodriguez has missed.
Chavez, who started yesterday against the Mariners and went 0-for-3 , is 5-for-18 (.278) with two homers and four RBIs in six starts. Nix is 5-for-8 (.625) with a homer and three RBIs in three starts.
* Ichiro Suzuki’s third-inning single off first baseman Mike Carp’s glove extended Ichiro’s hitting streak to 11 games. Ichiro has one hit in every game since joining the Yankees on July 23.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the 11-game hitting streak is the longest in Yankees history by a player acquired in an in-season trade.
* Girardi needed to see Chavez take batting practice before committing to playing the left-handed hitter at third base yesterday. Chavez left Friday night’s game after an eighth-inning at-bat in which he felt discomfort in the left foot while swinging.
Girardi couldn’t pinpoint when Chavez experienced the problem.
“We are not sure, we think it could be related to when he got hit in the side of the ankle,’’ Girardi said.
Chavez got hit in the lower leg on July 27 against the Red Sox.
“It’s only when he swings, it’s a little stiffness in his stride,” Girardi said. “It doesn’t bother him to run, it doesn’t bother him to field. It didn’t really hurt, he just felt a little stiffness.’’
Chavez took batting practice and Girardi announced him well enough yesterday to face Marlins ace Felix Hernandez.
Carp’s RBI single in the second inning stopped a 0-for-17 streak with runners in scoring position for Yankees pitchers. The Mariners went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. In the past three games Yankees pitchers have allowed one hit in 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
* The Yankees started yesterday’s game having homered in 21 consecutive home games but failed to get it to 22. The longest consecutive Yankees streak for homers in home games is 23 (June 13-July 24, 1963).
* Freddy Garcia is looking for career win 150 today when he faces the Mariners. If he gets it, the veteran right-hander will be the first pitcher from Venezuela to reach that many wins.
Among Latin America pitchers, Garcia is 12th all-time in wins. Former Yankee Javier Vazquez (Puerto Rico) is 11th with 165 victories.
* Girardi used Curtis Granderson in the leadoff spot for the second straight game and fifth this season and batted Derek Jeter second for the third time.
* The Yankees are winless in the past seven games decided by a run. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that matches the club’s longest stretch since 1995.