Who needs Kate Hudson?
Last night, Alex Rodriguez showed he can hit big home runs no matter who he’s dating.
The slugger drilled a seventh-inning grand slam that lifted the Yankees to an 8-4 victory over the Twins in front of 45,195 fans at Yankee Stadium.
“For me, that’s why I hit fourth,” Rodriguez said. “My team is expecting me to get big hits in those types of situations.”
The blast off Matt Guerrier was Rodriguez’s first huge hit of 2010. The shot was his fourth homer of the season and came on the same day rumors surfaced of jealousy between his ex-flame Hudson and his new love interest, Cameron Diaz.
When Rodriguez came up in the seventh inning, it appeared one of the Hollywood actresses might be managing the Twins. Minnesota skipper Ron Gardenhire inexplicably had walked Mark Teixeira intentionally to load the bases and bring Rodriguez to the plate with one out and the Twins leading, 4-3.
Gardenhire then called on Guerrier to face Rodriguez, who entered the at-bat with career numbers against the right-hander of 4-for-6 with three home runs.
A 91 mph fastball from Guerrier quickly became home run No. 4, with Rodriguez depositing it into the left-field seats. It was Rodriguez’s 587th career home run, moving him into sole possession of seventh place all-time.
“Numbers aren’t everything,” Gardenhire said.
The Twins manager may want to reconsider that opinion. Rodriguez is 4-for-4 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in six plate appearances after Teixeira has been intentionally walked to load the bases in front of him, according to Stats Inc.
Rodriguez’s dramatics were set up when Francisco Cervelli hit an infield single behind second base and Derek Jeter hit a wacky double that bounced off Twins starter Scott Baker’s right leg into right field.
The grand slam bailed out reliever Damaso Marte, who coughed up the 3-2 lead starter A.J. Burnett handed off to him in the top of the seventh. Marte came in to face Joe Mauer with Denard Span on second and two outs.
Mauer singled to center field to score Span and tie the game. Justin Morneau then doubled to right-center to knock in Mauer and give the Twins their short-lived lead.
The middle of the Yankees’ batting order had a big night with Teixiera, Rodriguez and Robinson Cano going 6-for-10 with six RBIs.
“We have a responsibility in the middle of the order to do damage,” Rodriguez said.
The victory extended the Yankees dominance over the Twins, particularly in The Bronx. Including the postseason, the Yankees have won 11 straight games over the Twins, and 11 straight at home. The last time the Twins won in The Bronx was July 4, 2007, in the old Stadium.
Since 2002, the Yankees are 27-5 at home against the Twins.
Burnett bounced back from an awful outing against the Red Sox on Sunday at Fenway Park, when he allowed nine runs. This time, he gave up two earned runs in 62/3 innings, walking four and striking out four.
Early on, Burnett looked like he was heading toward a repeat of his Boston blow-up.
Burnett threw a first-pitch ball to eight of the first 10 batters he faced, and got himself into trouble in the second inning.
He walked in a run, but escaped further trouble when Span, with the bases loaded and none out, hit the ball back to the mound. The baseball got stuck in Burnett’s jersey, but the righty started a 1-2-3 double play, then struck out Orlando Hudson.
“That could have been a real big inning,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “[It was] an outstanding job by A.J.”
brian.costello@nypost.com