• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rodriguez homers twice as Yankees pound Royals

Sep 9, 2007 - 3:45 AM By Alan Eskew PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Alex Rodriguez continued his remarkable season with two more home runs and Andy Pettitte pitched 6 1/3 strong innings as the New York Yankees crushed the Kansas City Royals, 11-5, on Saturday night.

Rodriguez hit his 50th and 51st home runs for his eighth multi-homer game of the season. He has 49 home runs as the third baseman, which breaks the major league record. Mike Schmidt hit 48 for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 and Adrian Beltre matched it in 2004 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's very special," Rodriguez said. "I admire guys who've played third like (Frank) Robinson, (George) Brett and Schmidt."

The 11-time All-Star has now homered in four straight games and is the first Yankees player to eclipse the half-century mark since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both accomplished the feat in 1961.

With the numbers he is putting up, he should be a shoo-in for his third American League MVP.

"I will settle for a world championship," Rodriguez said instead of another MVP trophy.

The Yankees, who were seven games below .500 after a June 4 loss, are now 18 games above .500 and lead the wild card race by three games over Detroit (77-65) and are 5 1/2 games back of the Boston Red Sox (86-57) in the American league East.

"I wouldn't even want to guess," Yankees manager Joe Torre said when asked where his team would be without Rodriguez. "I still marvel at what he does. I think we all do. Every at-bat there is some excitement. He's having more fun this year. I noticed it in spring training. If he doesn't have a good at-bat or day, he just leaves it there. He just seems more comfortable."

Pettitte (13-8) allowed two runs and seven hits, while striking out four to pick up his seventh victory in his past eight starts.

"As bad as we played (early), you forget how long of a season it is," Pettitte said. "The last inning I was fatigued for the first time in a while. I hit a wall and was gassed."

Johnny Damon, who played the first six years of his career with Kansas City, started the New York scoring with a two-run homer - his 10th - on a 3-1 count off Kansas City starter Brian Bannister in the third with Wilson Betemit aboard. Damon finished the contest with three hits, two RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Rodriguez homered for the first time in the fourth with Bobby Abreu aboard and led off the Yankees' seven-run sixth with his second blast. Both homers came on 3-1 fastballs off Bannister (12-8).

"This is really no surprise," Royals manager Buddy Bell said of Rodriguez's homers. "He's a great hitter and he's been doing this a long time. He's been a great player for a long time. He's having a tremendous year, an MVP year, that's for sure."

The Yankees sent 12 men to the plate in the sixth to put the game away. Betemit's three-run homer off reliever Ryan Braun was the big blow in the frame, while Abreu contributed a two-run double.

"Honestly, I'm not disappointed about the A-Rod homers, because that's a great player," Bannister said. "I'm disappointed in the counts I got myself in. When you get into those counts, it's a completely different situation. Hitters know that I have to throw a strike. When I'm pitching ahead, hitters can't take a full swing off me.

"A-Rod you expect to get swings like that. Damon, I was a little surprised, but again, I can't put myself into those situations where they know I have to throw a strike." But, as pitcher, you have to stay ahead of them, so they don't get swings like that. I felt like I let down my team. I should have stayed in and given my team a couple more innings."

Bannister worked five-plus innings, allowing seven runs - a season high - and seven hits, three walks and a hit batter.

"With that team, a league-leading hitting team, they're going to get their hits; they're going to get on base," Bannister said. "But, as pitcher, you have to stay ahead of them, so they don't get swings like that."

Emil Brown's double in the fourth scored rookie Billy Butler and Mike Sweeney for the only runs Pettitte allowed. Butler, who had two doubles, also scored in the eighth on a Shane Costa groundout.

Luke Hochevar, the first overall pick in the 2006 draft by the Royals, made his major league debut and pitched three shutout innings.

The Yankees defeated the Royals for the eighth time in nine games this season, outscoring them,70-35. The Yankees have won 18 of their past 21 games against Kansas City.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter left in the fifth with stiffness in his right knee. Torre said he would give Jeter Sunday off and the Yankees have an off-day on Monday.

"Hopefully a couple of days off will do the job," Torre said. "It's been bothering him for a while. Today it looked like he couldn't move very well."