Alex Rodriguez not in Yankees’ starting lineup vs. Red Sox on Friday

By Bill BaerMay 1, 2015, 6:55 PM EDT
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Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez, currently sitting on 659 career home runs, will have to wait one more day to continue his pursuit of tying Willie Mays for fourth on baseball’s all-time home run leaderboard. He is not in Friday’s starting lineup against the Red Sox. Via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch:

Rodriguez last homered on April 26 against the Mets, but he has been in a rut at the plate spanning nearly two weeks. Since April 18, he’s batting .135/.319/.270 with one home run, two RBI, and a an 11/10 K/BB ratio in 47 plate appearances.

Justin Masterson is on the hill for the Red Sox on Friday night opposing CC Sabathia of the Yankees. Red Sox lefty Wade Miley opposes Nathan Eovaldi of the Yankees on Saturday afternoon.

Attempting to complete cycle, Robinson Chirinos thrown out to end game

Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
By Bill BaerAug 21, 2019, 11:25 PM EDT
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With his Astros trailing the Tigers 2-1, catcher Robinson Chirinos began his at-bat in the bottom of the ninth a triple shy of the cycle. He doubled in the second inning, singled in the fourth, and hit a solo homer in the seventh. Yordan Álvarez and Yuli Gurriel both struck out, leaving the Astros’ fate in the hands of Chirinos against Joe Jiménez. After working the count to 2-1, Chirinos slapped an 85 MPH slider to the gap in right-center field. A diving Travis Demeritte could not come up with the ball, but center fielder Harold Castro fired the ball back in to Gordon Beckham, who then made a perfect throw to Dawel Lugo at third base. Chirinos was tagged out for the final out of the game. No triple, no cycle. The Astros lost 2-1.

Chirinos was attempting to become the first Astro to hit for the cycle since Brandon Barnes on July 19, 2013 against the Mariners.

The Astros entered Wednesday’s game as the largest favorite in 15 seasons, according to ESPN’s David Purdum. The Astros were -500 per Caesars Sportsbook. Other sportsbooks had them at -550. So the Tigers’ win was quite the upset.

Justin Verlander went the distance in the loss. The only blemishes on his line were solo homers to Ronny Rodríguez in the fifth and John Hicks in the ninth. They were the only hits he allowed while walking none and striking out 11.