Rangers 9
Yankees 7
ARLINGTON – Alex Rodriguez’ Texas return had a familiar ring to it: His team lost.
Back in the Lone Star State for the first time since being dealt from the Rangers to the Yankees, A-Rod was booed by the sold-out Ameriquest Field crowd, but not nearly as loudly as he was in Seattle and Boston.
While A-Rod hit a two-run homer in the first inning, it wasn’t enough to overcome a brutal outing by Kevin Brown, another former Ranger, as the hosts posted a 9-7 victory.
Losing and Texas go hand in hand with A-Rod, who suffered through three straight last-place finishes in the AL West while a Ranger, despite leading the AL in homers each year and winning the 2003 MVP award.
A-Rod, who took a lot of heat for a comment about not wanting the Rangers to be “24 kids and me” went 2-for-5.
Nothing any visitor did could match former Yankee David Dellucci going 4-for-4 with a two-run homer off Tanyon Sturtze in the eighth, when Laynce Nix also hit a two-run homer off Sturtze, who made his Yankee debut. It was Nix’ second homer of the game. He also hit a two-run blast to right off Brown in the four-run fourth.
Dellucci, who came to the Yankees last year for Raul Mondesi, was deemed expendable when George Steinbrenner had eyes only for Gary Sheffield to play right, Kenny Lofton to play center and the decision was made to bring back Ruben Sierra.
Jason Giambi left the game in the ninth when he twisted his right ankle rounding first on an RBI single. Giambi was already suffering from back spasms, bursitis in the left hip and working on a surgically repaired left knee.
Sheffield kept the ninth alive with an RBI single off Francisco Cordero that cut the Rangers’ lead to 9-6. Jorge Posada shaved it to 9-7 with a single to left. Cordero halted the rally when he fanned Hideki Matsui with a 99 mph fastball and ended the game by getting Tony Clark on a 98 mph heater.
Brown, a Ranger for seven years (1988-94), gave up five runs and 10 hits in 42/3 innings to the best hitting team in the majors and is 5-1. Staked to a 4-1 lead in the fourth Brown couldn’t hold it.
The loss dropped the Yankees one-half game behind the Red Sox in the AL East.
Enrique Wilson hit his first homer in the fourth, a two-run blow off the right-field foul pole.
When Brown gave up a two-out single to Dellucci and walked Kevin Mench in the fifth, Joe Torre called for lefty Felix Heredia to face left-handed hitting Laynce Nix. In his first appearance since April 9, Heredia caught Nix looking at a 1-2 pitch to end threat.
The fourth inning was a mess when the Rangers scored twice before Brown recorded an out and four runs total.
Brad Fullmer led off with a double to left and made third when Sheffield failed to make a sliding catch on Mark Teixeira’s fly into the right-field corner that was scored a double. Dellucci’s single to right scored both, and Dellucci hustled into second when Sheffield bobbled the ball and was charged with an error. Brown fed Mench a ground ball out but Nix put the Rangers up, 5-4, with a two-run homer to center, his seventh.