TORONTO — Prior to making an awkward baserunning blunder in the second inning, when he was thrown out at second base, Alex Rodriguez felt discomfort in his right groin.
And by the ninth inning when it was time to protect a one-run Yankees lead, Rodriguez was replaced at third base by Ramiro Pena.
But the problem really cropped up earlier.
“Before the game on the field a little bit,” said Rodriguez, who didn’t tell manager Joe Girardi about it until the top of the ninth. “It’s not bad, it’s more so the turf than anything else.”
Rodriguez went 1-for-4 and would have led off the 10th inning had the Blue Jays tied the score in the ninth. Had Rodriguez reached base in the ninth, Girardi was going to use a pinch runner.
Girardi expects his cleanup hitter to play tomorrow night against the Orioles in Baltimore.
“I do, unless he shows up stiff,” Girardi said. “He gets a day off [today] and there will be plenty of time.”
Pena made a tricky fielding play on Vernon Wells’ grounder leading off the ninth, throwing to first with a jump step.
“We were joking, ‘There would have gone my groin,’ ” said Rodriguez, who watched the sure-handed Pena field Alex Gonzalez’s grounder for the final out.
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The fact Girardi was not wearing a hat on his graying scalp when he came out of the dugout in the eighth inning was a strong indication he was going to get tossed for the second time this season.
Girardi peeled Nick Swisher off plate ump Bruce Dreckman after he called the right fielder out on a check swing on a 1-2 pitch in the dirt, then got into Dreckman’s grill and was immediately tossed.
“I threw the hat when he made the call and I didn’t go back and get it,” said Girardi, who understood the quick boot because managers aren’t allowed to challenge balls and strike calls.
Swisher just shrugged his shoulders when Dreckman, whose strike zone was questioned repeatedly, called him out on a 2-2 pitch in the ninth with Brett Gardner on second. Swisher had objected when Dreckman called him out looking in the third.
Rodriguez also questioned Dreckman calling him out in the fourth on a 3-2 pitch.
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Jorge Posada said he will begin catching drills tomorrow at Camden Yards, though Girardi wasn’t specific about a timetable.
“Probably in Baltimore, he will start catching drills,” Girardi said of his first-string catcher who hasn’t been behind the plate since May 16 due to a fractured right foot. “[He’ll] catch a pitcher [in the bullpen], block balls and throw to bases. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Girardi doesn’t have an exact date for Posada’s return as a catcher. Since coming off the disabled list Thursday, Posada has been the designated hitter in four games and has gone 3-for-18 (.167).
Whenever Posada is ready to resume catching, it’s not likely the Yankees will carry three catchers. Chad Moeller is on the roster as Francisco Cervelli‘s backup.
“It’s something as Jorge starts catching that we will have to evaluate,” Girardi said.
Did Girardi consider resting Cervelli yesterday after he caught 14 innings Saturday?
“He is a kid,” Girardi said of the 24-year-old Cervelli, who has started 17 of the 20 games Posada has missed and the first 10 straight. “I checked with everyone and they said they were OK.”
Cervelli started well at the plate when he was backing up Posada. However, since becoming a regular, his batting average has gone from .393 to .282 thanks to an 11-for-57 (.193) slump.
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There was no word from Girardi when pitching coach Dave Eiland will return to the club. Eiland left Friday due to a family matter. Mike Harkey has been the pitching coach the past three games.
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Girardi watched the beginning of the Miguel Cotto–Yuri Foreman fight Saturday night and said he would have liked to have been at Yankee Stadium, where the bout was held.
“I wish I could have seen the scene in person,” Girardi said.
Girardi isn’t concerned the ring, which was constructed in short right-center field, would ruin the grass.
“Danny Cunningham [the head groundskeeper] and our grounds crew do a great job,” Girardi said.