TORONTO – Having worked on his defense with coach Larry Bowa for 40 intense minutes in the morning, Alex Rodriguez was used as the DH yesterday in a move that was planned by Joe Torre on Friday night.
It’s hoped the extra session will download the throwing yips A-Rod has been experiencing this week (five errors in four starts) when he returns to third base today.
However, the break from third did nothing for A-Rod’s hitting. In four at-bats, he fanned four times and stranded six in a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays.
As with the throwing problem, A-Rod wasn’t over the edge because he tied a career-high four punchouts. He did it in 1995, the season he played 48 games for the Mariners.
“I didn’t feel that bad,” said A-Rod, who became the youngest player ever to reach 450 homers Friday night when he also collected his 2,00th career hit. “It was just one of those days that makes your head spin. But you put it behind you.” A-Rod started the game hitting .333 (12-for-36) with five homers and eight RBIs against lefty starter Ted Lilly. But Lilly whiffed him in the second, fourth and sixth innings.
“Lilly got the best of me,” admitted A-Rod, who has two hits in 13 at-bats and is hitting .280.
Justin Speier whiffed A-Rod with an 88-mph slider to end the seventh with the bases loaded and the Yankees leading by a run.
“The biggest thing today was the work I did with Bowa,” A-Rod said.
Bowa thought A-Rod was crouched too low for too long on every pitch, so he had A-Rod, who leads the Yankees in errors with 18, upright and walking into grounders.
“You wish you were hitting .340 with 35 homers and 95 RBIs, but we are human,” A-Rod said. “But I feel very comfortable as I have felt all year, especially in the box. A day like today you put it behind you.”