NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was shifted to designated hitter for Game 3 of the New York Yankees' AL division series against Baltimore but kept his No. 3 slot in the batting order.
Eric Chavez took over at third base for Wednesday night's game and hit ninth, where DHs Eduardo Nunez hit in Game 2 and Raul Ibanez in the opener. There had been some calls for manager Joe Girardi to drop down A-Rod, 1 for 9 with five strikeouts as the teams split the first two games of the best-of-five series.
The rest of New York's batting order was unchanged against right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, with shortstop Derek Jeter leading off, following by left fielder Ichiro Suzuki, Rodriguez, second baseman Robinson Cano, right fielder Nick Swisher, first baseman Mark Teixeira, centre fielder Curtis Granderson, catcher Russell Martin and Chavez. Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda was New York's starting pitcher.
