NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez was taken out of the New York Yankees' lineup Saturday afternoon after being hit in the left leg with a ball during batting practice. Ramiro Pena replaced him at third base.
Rodriguez was fielding grounders at third base while Lance Berkman was hitting in the cage over two hours before the Red Sox and Yankees were set to begin. A hard shot by Berkman caught Rodriguez in the lower leg and the All-Star third baseman hopped into shallow center field, clearly in pain. He then fell to the ground and laid there for roughly five minutes as trainers worked on the leg.
The Yankees have called the injury a lower left leg contusion.
Rodriguez, who became the youngest player in major league history to hit 600 homers earlier in the week, did leave the field under his own power but was limping heavily.
