Alex Rodriguez left his mark in Oakland's Alameda Coliseum last night and it wasn't because he stepped on someone's mound. A-Rod crept closer to 600 career home runs with a pair of blasts in the Yankees 6-1 win over the A's. CC Sabathia tossed 7+ innings for his 11th win, but this game was all about his third baseman.
A-Rod received a joke gift basket from former nemesis Dallas Braden, but it was A-Rod who had the biggest gift for his teammates. With the bases loaded in the 3rd, Rodriguez crushed a Trevor Cahill pitch for his 21st career grand slam. He later added a solo home run to give him 597 blasts in his career.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of ballyhoo about the milestone, and that has to be linked directly to A-Rod's admission of steroid use last year. It remains to be seen how both the Yankees and MLB will handle the feat.
Sabathia handled the A's just fine. Though he didn't have his best command, he allowed just one run and struck out 10, and is now 30-11 as a Yankee.
Notes
Jorge Posada had the catcher's gear back on last night after missing one game with a sprained ring finger.
Robinson Cano entered the HR Derby at next week's All-Star game much to the chagrin of his manager and hitting coach. But Joe Girardi and Kevin Long have to be pleased today after Cano backed out of the contest with a minor back issue. I'm sure it's very minor.
A-Rod has driven in 16 runs in his last 10 games.
photo courtesy of NY Daily News
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