A-Rod singles twice in Trenton rehab start

Alex Rodriguez was supposed to be in the New York Yankees lineup Tuesday. He began a brief rehab assignment with the Double-A Trenton Thunder instead.

In the first appearance of an expected two-game stint in the Minors, the Yankees designated hitter went 2-for-4 and drove in the game's first run en route to Trenton's 3-2 win over New Hampshire in 11 innings.

After popping out with a man on second in the first inning, Rodriguez came through with the bases loaded in the third, smacking a 3-1 pitch up the middle for an RBI single to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. The 40-year-old grounded into a fielder's choice in the fifth and singled to left in the seventh, then Juan Silva pinch-hit for him with a runner on first and one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Silva struck out looking in that at-bat, but the 25-year-old outfielder delivered two innings later. Third baseman Cito Culver singled and advanced to third on consecutive groundouts to set the stage for Silva. The left-handed hitter lined the ball to right to plate Culver with the winning run.

"[Manager] Bobby [Mitchell] decided when he was coming out, and he came to me and told me I was going to pinch-hit for A-Rod," Silva told NJ Advance Media. "It was awesome, taking over for one of the best players. I was just thinking about the game situation. I came up against the lefty first at-bat, with good stuff. I got another at-bat, and I got to finish the game. Afterwards, I thought about that I took over for him, and it was pretty exciting."

A-Rod was slashing .194/.275/.444 in 80 plate appearances with the Yankees this season before a strained right hamstring forced him to the disabled list May 4. Although he has had career success against Tuesday's probable starter for the Blue Jays, R.A. Dickey -- 10-for-33 with a home run and an .808 OPS -- the Yankees decided he could use a few at-bats in the Minors to regain his timing since he hadn't faced live pitching in three weeks nor had a real chance to test his hamstring.

"I think that's one of the great advantages of making this decision and being a little bit more conservative," Rodriguez told NJ Advance Media. "I'm going to get a chance here to test it out."

Since his appearance was something of a surprise, only about a quarter of the fans attending the game seemed to be there for him, according to Thunder senior vice president of corporate sales and partnerships Eric Lipsman. Still, the crowd was a near-sellout of 6,217.

Trenton's Daniel Camarena pitched into the sixth for the first time in five starts this season. The 23-year-old left-hander ended up allowing three hits and two walks while striking out seven over six frames to bounce back from a rough May 19 start in which he was tagged for five runs on five hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.