Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez sidelined with hip flexor tendinitis

Yanks’ A-Rod sidelined with hip flexor tendinitis

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Joe Girardi struck an optimistic tone after third baseman Alex Rodriguez had an MRI on Friday that revealed tendinitis in his right hip flexor.

Rodriguez was out of the lineup for the opener of a weekend series against the Houston Astros, but his latest ailment was in a different area than the injury that required hip surgery last year.

“That’s good news to me,” Girardi said.

Rodriguez departed New York’s 4-3 loss at Baltimore on Thursday night after one inning, hampered by groin tightness for the second time in a couple days. He had trouble moving to his left on Adam Jones’ RBI single in the first and Ramiro Pena hit for him in the second.

Rodriguez also left the Yankees’ 4-3 victory at Toronto last Sunday, but was in the lineup the next game against the Orioles on Tuesday.

The three-time AL MVP met with team physician Christopher Ahmad after the Yankees got back from Baltimore. With the MRI results back, he was expected to talk to Ahmad again before the game against Houston.

Rodriguez did not speak to the media before New York opened its nine-game homestand.

A-Rod had surgery last March to repair torn cartilage in his right hip and missed the first month of the season. He still finished with 30 homers and 100 RBIs in 124 games.

Pena was at third and batting eighth against the Astros. Girardi said Rodriguez might be available to pinch hit, but he was hoping to leave him on the bench.

Rodriguez missed a game last month after experiencing some cramping in his right leg, but Girardi said that was unrelated to his latest ailment.

“That was just a day off,” he said. “I mean he played a lot of baseball.”