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A-Rod launches No. 498 in Rays rout
Yankees slugger just two shy of reaching 500 milestone
By Lauren Kobylarz / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Four-hundred nintey-eight down, two to go.
Alex Rodriguez hit career home run No. 498 -- his 34th of this standout
season -- in the sixth inning of the Yankees' game against the Devil Rays on
Sunday at Yankee Stadium, bringing him one step closer to his 500th career
homer.
The shot came off an 0-1 pitch from Tampa Bay reliever Shawn Camp, bouncing
into the netting of Monument Park and bringing in Johnny Damon off second
base. A-Rod's two RBIs, his 98th and 99th this season, gave the Yankees an
18-3 lead.
With just two home runs now standing between him and No. 500, Rodriguez can't
help but be reminded of the milestone each time he steps to the plate. The
Yankees began bringing out new balls for Rodriguez's at-bats with home run
No. 496, on July 16 against the Blue Jays.
"The one frustrating thing is before every at-bat, they have to switch five
balls and give them to the umpire," Rodriguez said. "So that's quite of a bit
of a jinx. I try to ignore that whole process, but right now we're focusing
on winning games."
As the Yankees roughed up the Devil Rays for a 21-4 blowout win on Sunday,
Rodriguez wasn't the only Bronx Bomber hitting it out of the ballpark. Five
Yankees combined for six home runs -- two from rookie Shelley Duncan -- to
contribute to the victory. For Rodriguez, seeing the rest of his teammates
get the bats swinging has helped to relieve some of the pressure at the plate.
"I feel good up there, and now guys like [Hideki] Matsui and Bobby [Abreu]
are swinging the bats extremely well," Rodriguez said. "That makes it a lot
easier."
Rodriguez has now hit two home runs in his past two games, climbing up the
ladder toward becoming the 22nd player in Major League history to reach the
500-home run milestone.
Home run No. 497 came on a two-run shot to left field off Rays right-hander
Jay Witasick on Saturday against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium. Rodriguez's
career total has had a significant contribution from games against the Devil
Rays, as Sunday's homer was his 31st against the club.
His 498 homers place him at 22nd on baseball's all-time list, four ahead of
Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff, and four behind Toronto's Frank Thomas.
Leading the Majors with his 34 home runs and 99 RBIs this year, Rodriguez
finds himself in the midst of an impressive individual season. Before the
All-Star break, Rodriguez had totaled 30 home runs, setting a personal record
and leading the big leagues. A-Rod also topped the charts in runs and RBIs at
the season's midpoint with 79 and 86, respectively, making him the first
Yankee to lead all three categories since Mickey Mantle in 1956.
Rodriguez hit homer No. 496 on July 16 against the Blue Jays at Yankee
Stadium, after collecting No. 495 on July 12 at Tampa Bay in the Yankees'
first series following the Midsummer Classic.
Celebrating his 32nd birthday on July 27, Rodriguez could become the youngest
member of the prestigious club when he collects his final two homers.
Rodriguez would replace Jimmie Foxx, who was 27 days away from turning 33
years old when he hit his 500th home run on Sept. 24, 1940.
Although the game for No. 500 could be any day now, when it does come for
Rodriguez, he certainly won't be taken by surprise.
"That's the most annoying part of it, because they have to stop the game,"
Rodriguez said. "They've got three bat boys going out there with six new
balls, and then the pitcher gets a marked ball, so that's kind of quite a
jinx."
Lauren Kobylarz is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not
subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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