TORONTO – Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was back in the lineup against the Blue Jays on Wednesday after missing the past two games because of a sore left side.
Rodriguez left injured in the seventh inning of Saturday's victory over Texas. He is batting .385 with four homers and nine RBIs, and he leads the AL in on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.821).
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to see how A-Rod felt after going through batting practice, but said he expected him to play. On Tuesday, Rodriguez hit in the cage, took grounders and played catch but did not take BP.
Rodriguez was in the lineup in his regular cleanup spot, with Robinson Cano hitting fifth. Eric Chavez, who replaced Rodriguez the past two games, returned to the bench.
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