Sore hip sidelines Rodriguez again

The New York Yankees were without slugger Alex Rodriguez for the second straight game on Saturday as he continued to nurse a sore right hip.

"I came to the ballpark not planning on starting him," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's not ready to go, and we'll continue to evaluate him every day, see what availability we have with him every day."

Rodriguez had an MRI exam on Friday that showed tendinitis in his right hip flexor.

While the injury is a worry for the team, both A-Rod and Girardi sounded relieved that his discomfort doesn't appear to be related to hip surgery Rodriguez had last year.

"I think anytime you get where you're looking in that region, you're going to start thinking about what happened the year before," Girardi said. "But being something completely different than the hip socket makes you feel a lot better."

Rodriguez departed New York's 4-3 loss at Baltimore on Thursday after one inning because of tightness in his groin.