A-Rod Singles In Triple-A Rehab Game; Return To Yankees On Thursday 'Very Possible'
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Alex Rodriguez singled and played six innings in the field Tuesday night, as the Yankees third baseman continues his minor-league rehabilitation following right knee surgery in July.
Rodriguez, playing in his first game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batted third, and lined a single to right, before flying out to left and popping up to second. He also fielded a ground ball in the fourth inning.
"We'll take one day at a time. It was another good day," A-Rod said, according to the New York Daily News. "Hopefully have another one after that and then we'll see after that."
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lost to Durham, 2-0. The game drew an announced crowd of 9,328 in a park that usually attracts around 3,000 fans per game.
Rodriguez is scheduled to play again on Wednesday night in what should be his final minor-league game. Manager Joe Girardi said it was "very possible" A-Rod would rejoin the Yankees on Thursday night in Minnesota.
The rehabilitation game was Rodriguez's third, after playing two over the weekend in Dunedin, Fla., for the Single-A Tampa Yankees. He was the DH for two games vs. the Dunedin Blue Jays, and homered in his first at-bat on Friday night.
On Saturday, though, he struck out twice, grounded out, walked and scored a run.
Rodriguez is recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Before the game in Scranton, Rodriguez, a member of the 600 home run club, issued a statement, congratulating the newest member, Minnesota's Jim Thome, who joined the fraternity on Monday night.
"Jim is one of the easiest players of our generation to root for," he said. "It's hard to overshadow 600 home runs, because it is a tremendous accomplishment and an exclamation point on a career bound for the Hall of Fame. But to me, the way he has treated the game — and the people in and around it — will always be the first thing that I think of when I think of Jim Thome. In so many ways, he is a legend of our game."
On Thursday, the two may be reunited at Target Field.
Will the Yankees run away with first place in the AL East with A-Rod back in the lineup? Sound off in the comments below...
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