A-Rod homers after lineup shuffle to end 0-for-19 skid

Alex Rodriguez homered on the first pitch he saw Sunday, ending his hitless skid immediately after he was dropped three spots to sixth in the New York Yankees’ batting order.

The 40-year-old was without a hit in his previous 19 at-bats, two shy of matching the longest drought of his career. A season after hitting 33 home runs, A-Rod began the day batting .100 (3 for 30) with one homer and two RBIs.

Looking for a spark, Yankees manager Joe Girardi juggled his struggling lineup for the series finale with the Mariners as New York tried to stop a four-game losing streak.

Rodriguez was hardly the only Yankees hitter in a funk at the plate. New York was 0 for 24 with runners in scoring position during the first two games of the series and 3 for 46 in those situations in its last five games overall.

Brett Gardner hit an RBI double in the third, ending the Yankees’ 0-for-26 skid with runners in scoring position during the series.

Girardi said he spoke to Rodriguez about the decision and noted the designated hitter was moved up from seventh in the order early last year to the No. 3 spot after serving a season-long drug suspension in 2014.

“Nothing is ever permanent,” Girardi said. “We’ll get him back on track.”

DeGrom’s son could leave hospital

New York Mets manager Terry Collins says the newborn son of pitcher Jacob deGrom could be released from a hospital on Monday.

Collins said he spoke with the pitcher, who is with his family in Deland, Florida. Stacey deGrom gave birth to Jaxon on April 11.

DeGrom, who missed his last turn in the rotation because of a sore lat muscle in his right side, was placed on the family medical emergency list Saturday. The 2015 N.L. All-Star will be on the list from three to seven days.

Orioles-Rangers game rained out

The Rangers got an unexpected extra day off after a long opening stretch, and the Orioles have another game to make up later in the season.

With heavy rain falling in Arlington, Texas, and strong storms in the forecast into the night and Monday, the finale of a four-game series between the Rangers and Orioles was postponed. The game was called about five hours before the scheduled first pitch.

Both teams are also scheduled off Monday, but with the possibility of more rain then, the game will instead be made up June 20.

Before Sunday’s rainout, the Rangers had the longest streak in the majors without a postponement. Texas had played 448 consecutive regular-season games since a scheduled contest was postponed, a rainout at home against Arizona on May 29, 2013.

It is the second weekend in a row the Orioles have had a game postponed by rain.

Texas had played 13 consecutive days since its April 4 opener, the only major league team without a scheduled day off in that span.