Yankees manager Joe Girardi elected to give slumping slugger Alex Rodriguez (five hits in his last 40 at-bats) Thursday afternoon off against the Tigers, but Eric Chavez left the game in the top of the fourth inning due to an apparent left-foot injury, ending Rodriguez's day off early.
Chavez drilled a 1-0 pitch from Rick Porcello into deep right-center field for a triple, his first since 2007, plating Curtis Granderson to even the score at 1-1. Chavez slowed down considerably halfway between second and third base, and signaled for a trainer as soon as he tagged third. Girardi and trainer Steve Donahue came out to assist Chavez, and after a brief examination along the third-base line, Girardi removed Chavez from the game. The former All-Star left the field with Donahue's assistance.
Rodriguez replaced Chavez, scoring on an Eduardo Nunez single to right field. Between pitches, Rodriguez tried to stretch, which he continued doing as the Yankees took the field defensively at the bottom of the fourth. Thanks to Chavez's triple and Nunez's single, New York did so with a 2-1 lead.