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Texas' high-profile star has high impact, homering twice in a 9-3 drilling of the Rays.
By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays made Alex Rodriguez look like any other couple-million-a-year guy on Wednesday night, striking him out three times, twice in crucial situations.
But Thursday, Rodriguez showed why he's worth more. No athlete -- in any sport, at any time -- may be worthy of $252-million for 10 years, but Rodriguez made another case for why he deserves as much as anyone.
All he did was hit two home runs -- a two-run shot in the first and a game-breaking three-run blast in the sixth -- and turn a nifty double play to lead the Rangers to a 9-3 victory against the Rays.
You want numbers? Rodriguez has 10 homers in the month and 17 for the season, both tops in the AL. His 47 RBI are tied for second in the league. He has four two-homer games (the Rays have two, both by Greg Vaughn.) In his past 13 games, Rodriguez has hit .407 with seven home runs and 20 RBI.
You want testimony? "I don't take for granted one bit what he can do," Texas manager Jerry Narron said. "It's nice, very nice, having one of the greatest players of all-time on your team, and that's exactly what he's going to be when he's finished playing."
"He's been a good player and he will continue to be a good player," Rays manager Hal McRae said. "Good players are going to get their share of hits and home runs. It's enjoyable for the fans to watch a good player. It's not much fun for me."
You want proof? Consider the timing of Rodriguez's damage. With the Rays feeling good coming off Wednesday's comeback victory, they were hoping to quickly grab control.
But with leadoff man Rusty Greer on second and one out in the first, Rodriguez jumped on a 1-and-2 pitch from Tanyon Sturtze and drove it into the rightfield seats. It was the 27th time in 46 games the Rays have trailed, and added to what has become another troubling trend -- the Rays have been outscored 70-39 in the first and second innings.
The Rangers added to their lead with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth, but the Rays kept chipping back, and the score was 6-3 going to the sixth.
Mickey Callaway had replaced Sturtze, but a leadoff walk, an infield single, a fly out and a fielder's choice left men on first and third and Rodriguez at the plate. Callaway fell behind 3-and-1, then made a grievous mistake.
"I left one over the middle," Callaway said. "He's a pretty good hitter."
The three-run homer made it 9-3 and that, for the announced 11,181 at Tropicana Field, basically was the ballgame.
"We never got the stops we needed," McRae said. "It's hard when you're down and you're coming back. We scored, we were building a little momentum, we had something working. But the last home run, the three-run shot in the sixth, that kind of deflated what we had." Sturtze continues to be inconsistent, better than his previous start against Detroit, but not as strong as he was in beating Cleveland May 13. The one thing he has done consistently is pitch poorly at home. In nine games at the Trop, Sturtze is 0-3 with a 10.32 ERA. In eight road games, he is 1-1 with a 1.04 ERA.
Rodriguez, it seems, doesn't care where he's playing. After Wednesday, just the second time all season he has struck out three times, he watched tape of some of his better performances, and one assumes there were plenty to pick from.
"Let's just say I did a little homework last night and this morning," Rodriguez said. "In a long season, you just have to review and revise things you've done well and haven't done well and have to evaluate. I just took some time in the video room at the hotel and saw some good things. It's just positive reinforcement when you see good things happen.
"I've always said any time I have a horrible day or the team has a horrible day, that's the most exciting thing to come out the next day and prove it was just a one-day thing."
Few needed convincing.
"I guess that shows you how special a player he is when you kind of take for granted the things he does when there aren't too many other guys around the league who do it," Texas starter Rick Helling said. "Shows that he's obviously one of the best players in the game. Worth every penny of his salary in my opinion."