4:30 p.m. EDT - From 257 at-bats between homers to... ummm... zero at-bats between homers. Jeter went deep again, this time against Arthur Rhodes, in the seventh inning.
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Derek Jeter hit his first homer in 63 games dating back to last August when he took Dave Bush deep in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against the Rangers.
Of course, it came against a pitcher he never should have been facing for a third time on the day.
Bush, who had pitched just four times in the Rangers’ first 34 games, was called on today to make a spot start because of Alexi Ogando’s blister. He did his job, limiting the Yankees to two runs over the first four innings, but he allowed Jeter to go 2-for-2 in the process.
With those two hits, Jeter improved to 6-for-12 lifetime against Bush, begging the question of what Bush was still doing out there when Jeter came up to lead off the fifth.
Bush was pulled immediately after the homer, so it’s not like Ron Washington was caught unaware. He knew there was a good chance he’d be turning to the bullpen in the fifth inning; he just blew it by not starting the inning with a reliever.
The blast ended the longest homerless drought of Jeter’s career (257 at-bats). One of his previous hits also drove in a run, making this his first multi-RBI game of the year. It’s the second time he’s had at least three hits.