Alex Rodriguez decided at some point last year to talk with his bat rather than his mouth. That wasn't more evident than the week leading up to the Yankees-Dodgers series and its corresponding Joe Torre reunion this weekend.
A-Rod and Torre didn't have any meet and greets beforehand, but A-Rod's bat certainly got his former manager's attention. The third baseman snapped a 1-1 tie in the 6th with his 10th home run of the year and the Yankees took the first game of the series, 2-1.
CC Sabathia (9-3) never played for Torre, but gave him a game to remember. After struggling with his control early, the big man bore down and limited the Dodgers to four hits over eight innings. He also protected his teammates when he drilled Vincente Padilla (1-2) in the leg after Padilla hit Robinson Cano. Padilla had also left his mark last year when he hit Mark Teixeira twice in the same game while pitching for the Texas Rangers.
Torre also now knows how it feels to have Mariano Rivera close out your loss. Rivera did it in style, striking out Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, and James Loney in the 9th for his 17th save.
The Dodgers took advantage of Sabathia's early lack of command to pick up their only run in the 1st inning. Rafael Furcal drew a lead off walk, swiped second base and scored on Ramirez's single. The Yankees tied it in the 2nd when A-Rod reached on a lead off double and scored on a one out single by Jorge Posada.
Notes
"Manny being Manny" dropped a fly ball in the 8th that gave the Yankees an opportunity for an insurance run, but Padilla retired Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher to escape the jam.
James Loney was ejected from the ball game, even though the ball game was over, when he was called out on strikes by home plate ump Phil Cuzzi. That set off hitting coach Don Mattingly who screamed at Cuzzi as he walked off the field.
A-Rod's home run was the 593rd of his career.
Derek Jeter turns 36 on Saturday.
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