Strained calf sends A-Rod to disabled list
Alex Rodriguez was placed on the disabled list with a strained left calf on Saturday, taking one of the most potent bats out of the New York Yankees’ lineup just as the A.L. East pennant race really starts to heat up.
Rodriguez returned to the lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners after missing three games with the calf injury. The slugger aggravated it again in his first at-bat, then watched the rest of the game from the dugout.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Saturday’s game that he hoped A-Rod would avoid a stint on the DL. General manager Brian Cashman met with team doctors and trainers later in the day, and they decided that it was best to be cautious.
“He’s not any worse than he was before, we’re just going to play it safe and know we’ll have a player in 15 days,” Girardi said. “We just all felt, you know what? It’s in the best interest to put him on the DL.”
Right-hander Ivan Nova will be brought up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes- Barre to start on Monday at Toronto. The Yankees will push back the rest of their rotation one day.
Ramirez returns
The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated Manny Ramirez from the disabled list and put him in the starting lineup against Cincinnati.
Ramirez went 0 for 3 against the Reds on Saturday night.
Ramirez has been on the DL three times this year and has been out of action nearly as much as he’s been on the field. The left fielder missed the last 33 games because of a strained right calf.
The Dodgers are fourth in the N.L. West after winning back-to-back division titles. They are 26-33 with Ramirez out of the lineup.
Matt Stairs has hit his 21st homer as a pinch-hitter, the most in big league history.
Stairs connected on a two-run shot in the eighth inning of the San Diego Padres’ 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night, passing Cliff Johnson for most pinch-hit homers.
Stairs has 262 home runs in a career that began with the Montreal Expos in 1992.
Johnson played from 1972-1986.