Last night was a clinic of sorts from Alex Rodriguez, who reminded people that he still has some power, especially when the mechanics are right.
In Kansas City, Rodriguez put on a hitting clinic that made us think back to years such as 2007 and 2005. On three straight at-bats, he hit three home runs, connecting on a solo shot in the sixth and two-run drives in the seventh and ninth inning.
In some ways, he pulled a "Reggie" by matching what Reggie Jackson did in Game Six of the 1977 World Series That is homering off three different pitchers on three consecutive at-bats, except that Rodriguez did not do it on three straight pitches
Here's how each of those at-bats developed:
Leading off the sixth against Sean O'Sullivan - changeup at the knees for a foul ball, sinker at the belt for a foul ball, sinker at the shoulders for ball one. The home run pitch was a sinker on the inside corner around the knees that Rodriguez lifts to center field.
One out in the seventh with Mark Teixeira on first and facing Kanekoa Teixeira - first-pitch fastball that was virtually the same location and lifted to center field.
Nobody out in the ninth with Teixeira on first and facing Greg Holland - slider just misses the outside corner for ball one, slider over the plate that is called a ball, inside fastball slightly above the knees.
The second home run was his 20th giving him 15 straight seasons of 20 home runs and since I'm into lists, here's the date and place when he reached 20 in previous years:
2009 - August 7 off Boston's Junichi Tazawa in the 15th inning
2008 - July 18 off Oakland's Dallas Braden in the sixth inning
2007 - June 3 off Boston's Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the ninth
2006 - July 16 off Chicago's Freddy Garcia in the first
2005 - June 21 off Tampa Bay's Travis Harper in the eighth
2004 - July 5 off Detroit's Nate Robertson in the second
2003 - June 30 off Anaheim's Ben Weber in the top of the eighth
2002 - June 5 off Anaheim's Jarrod Washburn in the top of the fourth
2001 - June 17 off Houston's Scott Elarton in the top of the fifth
2000 - June 19 off Tampa Bay's Albie Lopez in the third
1999 - July 19 off Arizona's Vicente Padilla in the sixth
1998 - May 28 off Tampa Bay's Jason Johnson in the top of the third
1997 - August 22 off New York's Kenny Rogers in the first
1996 - July 16 off Oakland's Bobby Chouinard in the top of the third
The three home runs put Rodriguez on a pace for 29, but I have a feeling he will find a way to hit nine in the last 46 games. By hitting 21 through 109 games that he has played, that comes out to one every five games. Another factor that seems to be in his favor is this:
Before the break, Rodriguez played 82 games and homered 14 times. Since the break, he is halfway to that total in 27 games.
