As a dozen fans waved plastic foam syringes a few rows behind the plate, A-Rod stepped into a fastball and sent it soaring into the left-field seats. It was his 554th career home run, and for sheer theater, it just might have been in the Top 10.
The shot sure came at the right time for the Yankees, whose five-game skid was their longest under second-year manager Joe Girardi. During that losing streak, New York went 6 for 43 with runners in scoring position.
Rodriguez struck out in the third and fifth innings against Guthrie, then grounded out against Bob McCrory in the seventh to finish 1 for 4. But that one hit was a doozy; while A-Rod was gone, New York third basemen hit a combined .202 with no homers and 10 RBIs over 28 games.
Rodriguez's home run was all the support the Yankees needed for Sabathia (2-3), who stopped a run of four starts without a victory. It was by far his finest performance since signing a $181 million, seven-year contract with New York during the offseason.
The husky left-hander allowed singles to the first two batters he faced, then retired 23 of the next 24 batters
- the exception a third-inning walk to Brian Roberts - leading up to the ninth.
Cesar Izturis and Roberts opened the ninth with singles before Sabathia got three straight outs to end it.
Sabathia struck out eight, walked one and gained a measure of revenge for an opening-day loss to Baltimore, when he gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Guthrie also settled down after the first, when he walked Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira before yielding the home run to Rodriguez. Over the next five innings, New York failed to score and got only one runner past second base.
