New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez moved past Craig Biggio into sole possession of 21st place on the all-time hits list with a solo home run off of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi in the first inning of Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Rays, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Sitting at 3,060 career hits before the game, Rodriguez used the 686th home run (and 3,061st hit) of his career to vault ahead of Biggio on the all-time hits list.
A-Rod got a 1-0 fastball from Odorizzi that caught too much of the plate, and he promptly deposited it in the right field stands at Tropicana Field for his team-high 32nd homer of the year.
Rodriguez didn’t have any other hits in the game, but he did later draw a walk and come around to score.
He already has six homers and 12 RBI through just 13 games in September. That follows a dreadful month of August in which he posted a .153 batting average, .273 on-base percentage, two home runs and 10 RBI.
The ugly slump led some to question whether the 40-year-old’s excellent first half might have just been a fluke. But it now seems quite clear that Rodriguez’s surprising bounce-back season is the real deal, as Tuesday’s effort boosted his batting line to .257/.360/.506.
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