A-Rod homers on 40th birthday in Yankees’ 6-2 win at Rangers

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez follows through on a solo home run swing off a pitch from Texas Rangers' Matt Harrison as Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos watches in the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday,July 27, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez follows through on a solo home run swing off a pitch from Texas Rangers' Matt Harrison as Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos watches in the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday,July 27, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

By Associated Press July 27, 2015 3 min read

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Alex Rodriguez homered on his 40th birthday, helping the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 Monday night.

A-Rod’s solo drive in the sixth off Matt Harrison (1-2) made him only the fourth player in major league history to homer both as a teenager and in his 40s, according to STATS, joining joined Ty Cobb, Rusty Staub and Gary Sheffield.

Rodriguez hit his big league-best sixth homer on his birthday, STATS said, breaking a tie with Todd Helton, Chipper Jones, Derrek Lee and Al Simmons.

It was Rodriguez’s 24th this season and 678th of his career, and it came two days after he went deep three times against Minnesota, in his previous game.

When Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees before spring training in 2004, he was only three seasons into the $252 million, 10-year contract he signed with Texas after starting his career with Seattle from 1994-2000. He got a $275 million, 10-year deal from New York after the 2007 season.