A-Rod goes over 50 HRs, sets record

Sep 9, 2007, 0:19 GMT

Kansas City, MO - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez continued his amazing season by smashing his 50th and 51st home runs in Saturday's 11-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Rodriguez had a two-run drive with nobody out in the fourth inning and then hit his 51st, a lead-off shot to left field in the sixth.

Bobby Abreu doubled to start the fourth inning. Rodriguez, who has already established a Yankee record for most homers in a single season by a right- handed batter, then blasted a 3-1 offering from Brian Bannister over the wall in center field. That gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

His second of the game, to left field, also came off Bannister and boosted New York's lead to 5-2.

Rodriguez has hit 49 homers while playing third base, breaking the major league record of 48 by Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt (1980) and Seattle's Adrian Beltre (2004) for most in a single year at that position.

It also gave Rodriguez 515 career homers, moving within six of Willie McCovey and Ted Williams, who are tied for 15th on the all-time list. He also joined Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as the only Yankees to ever reach 50 in a season.

It's the third time Rodriguez has hit at least 50 homers in a season. His career-best was 57 for Texas in 2002.

'It's special,' Rodriguez said. 'We're in the middle of a pennant race. What I did in Texas was a little bit different scenario. It's a lot more special here in New York.'

Despite nursing a sore ankle, Rodriguez has hit eight homers in his last 10 games.

Rodriguez was hit by a pitch in the eighth and was pinch-run for by Shelley Duncan.

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