With the three-game sweep of the Orioles (and a Red Sox loss at the hands of the Rays), the Yankees extended their winning streak to six games and their lead in the AL East to 7 1/2 games. And Rodriguez has been a big reason for New York’s success.
Notching his 2,500th career hit puts Rodriguez in an elite group of players — including Hank Aaron, Ted Williams and Roberto Clemente. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter also recorded his 2,500th career earlier this season, also against the Orioles. At the time, Jeter was third on the all-time Yankee hit list, behind only Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Rodriguez joins Jeter in the exclusive club.
Rodriguez is 34-years-old and, barring injury, will soon become a member of an even more exclusive club — the 3,000 hit and 500 home run club. To date, only Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray and Rafael Palmeiro possess such numbers. Rodriguez currently has 576 home runs.
The Yankees head to Toronto for a four games series starting Thursday night. The Yankees are 9-3 against the Blue Jays this season and Rodriguez has gone 9-for-38 with four RBIs. Rodriguez will be looking to build on his solid performance against the Orioles. After sitting out the series opener on Monday, he went 4-for-10 with two RBIs.