Boo-birds watch A-Rod get his first hit in rehab stint

REUTERS

Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, playing on a rehab assignment, singles during the third inning in Melbourne, Fla.

VIERA, Fla. — From the brushback fastball that knocked him off the plate to the Space Coast Stadium crowd’s unexpected and intense jeering, Saturday night was a series of firsts for Alex Rodriguez on his road back to The Bronx.

More importantly for the embattled and drama-attached slugger with the bloated contract was another first, his first base-hit in a game in nine months.

Rodriguez sharply lined a single to center field in the third inning for Single-A Tampa in his third minor league game since beginning a rehabilitation assignment last Tuesday with Single-A Charleston. He played five full innings and he is expected to play again for Tampa Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in Viera against the Brevard County Manatees, the Brewers minor league affiliate.

After his third minor league game, and first for Tampa, Rodriguez is now 1-for-6 after going 1-for-2 and getting hit by a breaking ball. The home crowd enjoyed his struggles, booing the power-hitting third baseman in each at-bat. There were some cheers when he turned around a 1-0 D’Vontrey Richardson fastball. Rodriguez, however, didn’t fully run out Peter O’Brien’s 6-4-3 double play grounder, jogging extremely lightly to second base, which cost Tampa a run.

Rodriguez, who has yet to play with the Yankees after offseason left hip surgery and has been linked through published reports to a Florida Biogenesis clinic that allegedly distributed performance-enhancing drugs to major league players, took batting practice and fielded groundballs at third before the game.

He handled his three chances at third, reaching up for a Greg Hopkins line drive in the second inning that drew a gasp from the anti-A-Rod crowd. In the fifth, he fielded a pair of grounders, including one in which he had to move quickly to his right.

Rodriguez ended his night by getting hit by a Richardson breaking ball in the fifth and scored all the way from first on O’Brien’s drive to the wall in left, running gingerly around the bases.

In his first at-bat, Rodriguez weekly grounded out to shortstop on a 2-0 fastball. Rodriguez was buzzed with the first pitch, a high and tight heater that seemed to surprise him. As he jogged lightly back across the diamond to the dugout, one fan shouted, “There’s a time limit, A-Rod.”

It was a stark contrast to the warm reception he received in his two games for Single-A Charleston. Those fans greeted him like a conquering hero while the folks here did their best impression of Red Sox fans.

Before yesterday, Rodriguez had played in two minor league games, both for Charleston, going 0-for-4 in the two games with three groundouts and a strikeout. He appeared in three innings in each game, worked out in Charleston Thursday before his game with Tampa against Lakeland, the Tigers’ affiliate, was rained out Friday.

After that game, he said it was too early to judge his progress, saying he needs 25 at-bats before he could worry about his timing because it has been nine months since he last played in games.

Without Rodriguez, third base has been a revolving door for the Yankees. They signed Kevin Youkilis in the offseason as A-Rod’s replacement, but he was diagnosed with a back strain when the season began and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 30. He came back May 30, but Youkilis re-injured his back June 14 and was put back on the disabled list. He underwent back surgery six days later and was placed on the 60-day DL.

Rookie David Adams has spent much of the time at the hot corner since then, but has hit just .190 in 29 starts. Jayson Nix, Alberto Gonzalez, Luis Cruz, and Chris Nelson also have seen time at third, though nobody has come close to matching the output the Yankees have come to expect from Rodriguez, or were hoping to get from Youkilis.

Rodriguez has said he expects to return to elite status when he gets back to The Bronx, and he backed up those bold words with his first hit in nearly a year last night.

zbraziller@nypost.com

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