BOSTON (AP) – Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays for fourth place in major league history with his 660th home run, breaking an eighth-inning tie with a pinch-hit shot that sent the New York Yankees to a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi left Rodriguez out of the starting lineup to rest him but sent him up to bat for Garrett Jones with one out in the eighth.
Rodriguez ran the count to 3-0, then lined a fastball from Junichi Tazawa (0-1) into the left-field seats above the Green Monster – his first career homer as a pinch hitter – and jogged around the bases to boos from the crowd at Fenway Park, where he made his major league debut with Seattle in 1994.
The Yankees’ reaction was a bit subdued for a teammate who was suspended all last season for his involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. Players stayed in the dugout, applauding. But when A-Rod arrived, Girardi gave him a high-five and teammates shook his hand and enthusiastically patted him on the back.
Rodriguez and the Yankees have a $30 million marketing agreement that calls for payments of $6 million each for up to five accomplishments, payable within 15 days of designation by the team. The accomplishments were contemplated to be home runs 660, 714, 755, 762 and 763.