Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in last night’s victory. It was his first good game in a while, and I think the direction of his hits were a promising sign for the rest of the season.
His first hit came in the first inning on a sinker, low-and-away. He went with the pitch and drilled it over the center field fence (a little right of center). When he’s slumping, he grounds that to shortstop or third base. Keeping that left shoulder in — and staying back on the ball — is really a good sign.
His second hit came in the second inning on a fastball, middle-in. He kept his hands inside the baseball and lined it right back up the middle. On that pitch, he had been over swinging, looking for a long ball to left.
His third hit came in the seventh inning on a sinker, low-and-in. Again, he kept his hands inside and put a Derek Jeter-like swing on the baseball, and drove it to right field to score two runs.
Overall, all three hits landed to the right of center field, and that’s where he should be landing his hits. If he can hit the pitches away from him hard to right field, he’ll have no trouble turning on fastballs down the heart of the plate.
