NEW YORK: His pregame tribute ended by a storm, Alex Rodriguez soaked in repeated cheers during his final game in pinstripes, getting one more hit for the New York Yankees and returning to third base one last time.
On a night filled with nostalgia as the Yankees and Rodriguez turn to uncertain futures, baseball’s most notorious star of the last two decades drove a 96 mph fastball from Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer into the right-center field gap in the first inning of New York’s 6-3 victory Friday.
And with the sellout crowd of 46,459 chanting “We want A-Rod!” the 41-year-old designated hitter trotted to third base for the first time in 15 months at the start of the ninth inning as the organist played “Thanks for Memory.” He was replaced after a leadoff strikeout, hugging his teammates. A-Rod ran back on the field for more hugs after the final out, grabbing a handful of dirt from the infield.
Rodriguez grounded out, struck out and bounced out again on the first pitch in his last at-bat. The 1-for-4 night left him with a .200 average, nine homers and 31 RBIs in his 12th and final Yankees season.
Rodriguez has 696 home runs, fourth on the career list behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). Rodriguez said last Sunday he had accepted an offer to play one final home game and then become a team adviser through 2017, tasked with mentoring young players.
Starlin Castro had four RBIs for the Yankees, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth off Archer (6-16) that gave CC Sabathia (7-9) his second win since mid-June. Dellin Betances got the save.
Cubs 13 Cardinals 2: In Chicago, Matt Szczur hit two home runs and Chicago won its 11th straight game, backing Jake Arrieta and battering St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright.
Willson Contreras launched a three-run shot to cap a five-run second inning, and Javier Baez and Jorge Soler also went deep to make things easy for Arrieta (14-5).
The Cubs’ winning streak is their longest since a 12-game run in 2001.
Red Sox 9 Diamondbacks 4: In Boston, Hanley Ramirez hit two three-run homers, and David Ortiz also homered to help Boston rout Arizona.
Boston scored four runs in each of the first two innings, ending a streak of 14 scoreless innings by the Diamondbacks’ starting pitchers.
Astros 5 Blue Jays 3: In Toronto, Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings for his first major league win, Teoscar Hernandez homered for his first big league hit and Houston beat Toronto.
Designated hitter Evan Gattis had four hits, including two doubles. Hernandez had two hits and reached base three times, and Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve each had two RBIs each to help Houston extend its winning streak to four.
Indians 13 Angels 3: In Cleveland, Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez each stole three bases to help Cleveland tie the franchise record with eight, and Brandon Guyer drove in five runs against Los Angeles.
Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor added steals for Cleveland to match the record that was first accomplished on Aug. 27, 1917, against the Washington Senators. The eight steals allowed also are the most in club history for the Angels.
Phillies 10 Rockies 6: In Philadelphia, Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to help Jake Thompson earn his first major league victory and lead Philadelphia past Colorado. Charlie Blackmon hit three solo home runs and D.J. LeMahieu also went deep for Colorado.
Padres 8 Mets 6: In New York, rookie Ryan Schimpf hit a grand slam and added a two-run shot in San Diego’s victory over New York.
Jabari Blash and Christian Bethancourt also homered early to help the Padres hand the Mets their fourth straight loss and sixth in seven games. The defending NL champions (57-58) fell below .500 for the first time since April 17. One day after getting swept at home by last-place Arizona, the Mets again failed to look like legitimate wild-card contenders.
Braves 8 Nationals 5: In Washington, Jace Peterson, Freddie Freeman and Anthony Recker homered and Atlanta beat Washington to snap a 14-game losing streak in the nation’s capital.
Reds 7 Brewers 4: In Milwaukee, Homer Bailey struck out 11 in six scoreless innings in his third game back from Tommy John surgery in Cincinnati’s victory over Milwaukee. Adam Duvall hit his 27th home run and Billy Hamilton stole three bases to push his major league-leading total to 51.
On a night filled with nostalgia as the Yankees and Rodriguez turn to uncertain futures, baseball’s most notorious star of the last two decades drove a 96 mph fastball from Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer into the right-center field gap in the first inning of New York’s 6-3 victory Friday.
And with the sellout crowd of 46,459 chanting “We want A-Rod!” the 41-year-old designated hitter trotted to third base for the first time in 15 months at the start of the ninth inning as the organist played “Thanks for Memory.” He was replaced after a leadoff strikeout, hugging his teammates. A-Rod ran back on the field for more hugs after the final out, grabbing a handful of dirt from the infield.
Rodriguez grounded out, struck out and bounced out again on the first pitch in his last at-bat. The 1-for-4 night left him with a .200 average, nine homers and 31 RBIs in his 12th and final Yankees season.
Rodriguez has 696 home runs, fourth on the career list behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). Rodriguez said last Sunday he had accepted an offer to play one final home game and then become a team adviser through 2017, tasked with mentoring young players.
Starlin Castro had four RBIs for the Yankees, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth off Archer (6-16) that gave CC Sabathia (7-9) his second win since mid-June. Dellin Betances got the save.
Cubs 13 Cardinals 2: In Chicago, Matt Szczur hit two home runs and Chicago won its 11th straight game, backing Jake Arrieta and battering St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright.
Willson Contreras launched a three-run shot to cap a five-run second inning, and Javier Baez and Jorge Soler also went deep to make things easy for Arrieta (14-5).
The Cubs’ winning streak is their longest since a 12-game run in 2001.
Red Sox 9 Diamondbacks 4: In Boston, Hanley Ramirez hit two three-run homers, and David Ortiz also homered to help Boston rout Arizona.
Boston scored four runs in each of the first two innings, ending a streak of 14 scoreless innings by the Diamondbacks’ starting pitchers.
Astros 5 Blue Jays 3: In Toronto, Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings for his first major league win, Teoscar Hernandez homered for his first big league hit and Houston beat Toronto.
Designated hitter Evan Gattis had four hits, including two doubles. Hernandez had two hits and reached base three times, and Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve each had two RBIs each to help Houston extend its winning streak to four.
Indians 13 Angels 3: In Cleveland, Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez each stole three bases to help Cleveland tie the franchise record with eight, and Brandon Guyer drove in five runs against Los Angeles.
Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor added steals for Cleveland to match the record that was first accomplished on Aug. 27, 1917, against the Washington Senators. The eight steals allowed also are the most in club history for the Angels.
Phillies 10 Rockies 6: In Philadelphia, Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to help Jake Thompson earn his first major league victory and lead Philadelphia past Colorado. Charlie Blackmon hit three solo home runs and D.J. LeMahieu also went deep for Colorado.
Padres 8 Mets 6: In New York, rookie Ryan Schimpf hit a grand slam and added a two-run shot in San Diego’s victory over New York.
Jabari Blash and Christian Bethancourt also homered early to help the Padres hand the Mets their fourth straight loss and sixth in seven games. The defending NL champions (57-58) fell below .500 for the first time since April 17. One day after getting swept at home by last-place Arizona, the Mets again failed to look like legitimate wild-card contenders.
Braves 8 Nationals 5: In Washington, Jace Peterson, Freddie Freeman and Anthony Recker homered and Atlanta beat Washington to snap a 14-game losing streak in the nation’s capital.
Reds 7 Brewers 4: In Milwaukee, Homer Bailey struck out 11 in six scoreless innings in his third game back from Tommy John surgery in Cincinnati’s victory over Milwaukee. Adam Duvall hit his 27th home run and Billy Hamilton stole three bases to push his major league-leading total to 51.
