TAMPA — The sight of Alex Rodriguez hitting the dirt in the batter’s box late in yesterday’s 1-1 tie against the Tigers pebbled the Yankees’ skin.
Rodriguez absorbed a 94-mph fastball from Brayan Villarreal in the left ribs and quickly crumbled to the ground in the seventh inning.
Trainer Mark Littlefield and manager Joe Girardi met Rodriguez at the plate and immediately escorted the cleanup hitter to the dugout.
“It was right in the rib cage,’’ Rodriguez said. “Everything is good, ready to go.’’
Girardi said Rodriguez was “fine,’’ and the manager expects him to play tomorrow. The Yankees are off today.
* Andy Pettitte will be in front of a crowd today much tougher than any AL East lineup he has faced.
Pettitte will talk to inmates at Huntsville State Prison in Texas, the country’s oldest state prison that houses an execution chamber.
“I will share my faith in Jesus,’’ Pettitte said of the speaking assignment he scheduled long before he decided to make a comeback to baseball. “It’s nothing new. Every time I get the opportunity to speak, to share my faith in Christ.’’
The prison is about two hours from Pettitte’s Texas home near Houston.
Pettitte threw a bullpen session yesterday and will toss batting practice tomorrow.
* Derek Jeter homered in the first inning in his second game back from a calf injury, but was under instructions from Girardi not to run hard.
“I told him to have four good at-bats, that we still have time,’’ Girardi said. “I thought he moved better.’’
Jeter, who homered for the first time this spring, was encouraged.
“I felt good,’’ said Jeter, who is batting .348 in nine games. “You want to feel good going into the season.”
* David Robertson’s first game action since early March consisted of one inning in which he allowed a hit and struck out one.
Despite the limited workload, the setup man believes he can be ready for the start of the season with just 12 days until Opening Day.
“Hopefully I will have two to three more outings to fine-tune my mechanics,’’ said Robertson, who missed time due to a bruised right foot suffered falling down stairs. “I should be able to do it.’’
“He looked fine to me,’’ Girardi said. “He said he didn’t feel [the foot].’’
* Mariano Rivera gave up his first hit of the spring in a scoreless frame. In six innings, Rivera has given up one hit and no runs.
* Right fielder Nick Swisher (groin) hopes to return tomorrow.
“That’s what we are shooting for,’’ Girardi said.
* Phil Hughes throws in a minor league game today that Girardi won’t watch. Girardi is taking advantage of today’s off day to visit his father in Illinois.