ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With the ALDS against the Tigers starting tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium, Alex Rodriguez didn’t want to subject his surgically repaired right knee to the rigors of Tropicana Field’s turf last night and was scratched 40 minutes before the Yankees’ 8-7, 12-inning loss to the Rays.
“There was a little soreness but no pain,” said Rodriguez, who was the DH Monday night and played third Tuesday night. “It was a little tight. It was a turf issue.”
Rodriguez, who was scheduled to hit fifth, which is where he will bat against lefties in the postseason (Detroit doesn’t have a lefty starter), said the knee is “nothing to worry about,” and he will be ready tomorrow.
It’s not Joe Torre dropping him to eighth in the 2006 ALDS in Detroit, but Rodriguez is moving down.
Rodriguez had arthroscopic surgery in mid-July and missed almost 12 weeks. He returned and sprained his left thumb in his first game back.
Last night, Robinson Cano was fourth and Mark Teixeira was third. Tuesday night against right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, Girardi dropped Teixeira, who is struggling from the left side, from third to fifth. Cano hit third and Rodriguez fourth.
“Tex has been good against lefties,” Girardi said of the switch-hitter who ended the season .303 (57-for-188) against lefties but .223 (89-for-400) versus right-handers. Teixeira, who hit a grand slam off David Price in the second and a solo shot off the left-hander in the fourth, was 2-for-4 with five RBIs last night.
The moves are based more on Cano evolving into the Yankees’ best hitter. He ended the season batting .302 with 28 homers and 118 RBIs, one behind AL leader and teammate Curtis Granderson.
“The bottom line is you want to give your best hitters more at-bats,” said general manager Brian Cashman, who explained discussions about tinkering with the middle of the lineup began two weeks ago. “You hit your way up the lineup and down the lineup.”
Before last night’s batting practice, Rodriguez said the left thumb and knee were fine and that his recent slide is more about a timing issue than anything else.
“It’s [timing] getting better,” said Rodriguez, who participated in a mid-afternoon hitting drill with Cano and hitting instructor Kevin Long yesterday where the emphasis is on using the hips to help pull balls. He didn’t look limited in those drills.
Rodriguez hit .188 (6-for-32) with a homer and six RBIs in the previous nine games.
Cashman isn’t convinced injuries weren’t playing a factor.
“I don’t know,” Cashman said before Rodriguez was scratched. “He will benefit from more reps. You would have to ask him but it may be a combination [of rust and injury].”
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Freddy Garcia was named the Game 3 starter by Girardi.
“The Tigers have a good lineup, but I have to pitch my game,” said Garcia, who was the choice over A.J. Burnett. “I can’t pitch differently because we are in the playoffs.”
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Dellin Betances, who pitched two scoreless innings in his first major league start last night, washed away some of the sour taste left over from his big-league debut on Sept. 22 at Yankee Stadium.
The former Grand Street Campus High School stud allowed two runs, walked four and hit a batter in two-thirds of an inning against the Rays in a 15-8 loss last week in The Bronx.
“I think he will relax a little more than the last time,” Girardi said of the 6-foot-8, 260-pound right-hander, who will be 24 in March when he starts competing for a spot in next year’s rotation during spring training.
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Catcher Jesus Montero‘s first reaction to getting hit by a ball on the two last fingers of the right hand last night was worry.
“There was a lot of pain,” said Montero, who left the game after a ball glanced off Casey Kotchman’s hand and hit him. “But thank God nothing happened.”
Montero was taken for X-rays that were negative and after the game there wasn’t any swelling.
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The Yankees will work out at Yankee Stadium this afternoon.