Alex Rodriguez Facing Joel Pineiro As He Chases 600 Home Runs

It’s not quite right to say that Alex Rodriguez is “stuck” at 598 home runs, considering he just homered two games ago, but when there’s history to be made, fans and observers see little need for patience. Wednesday - A-Rod’s second game at his current level - sees him go up against Joel Pineiro in the finale of a two-game set against the Angels.

Rodriguez has seen Pineiro 35 times over his career, with four singles, a double, a walk, and 11 strikeouts. That, already, holds little significance, but reducing the significance even further is that Rodriguez has faced Pineiro just six times since the pitcher re-invented himself as a sinkerballer in St. Louis. Pineiro is a different pitcher now than he used to be, and so his history with A-Rod is just about meaningless.

This new version of Pineiro shows little in the way of preference for facing lefties or righties, and as a sinkerballer, he doesn’t allow many fly balls and therefore doesn’t allow many home runs. So he’ll be a challenge for A-Rod’s homer pursuit. Still, considering Pineiro has allowed home runs to the likes of Brendan Harris, Gerald Laird, and Brad Penny on the year, the opportunity is there.