truebluefan

It was a rare lovefest for Alex Rodriguez at the Stadium last night after he slugged two homers, including a grand slam, to lead the Yankees to a resounding victory in the Subway Series finale. But, as it always is with A-Rod, nothing is simple.

Rodriguez silenced fans who have been booing him all year, but he infuriated Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca during the Yankees' 16-7 rout.

The Yankee third baseman swatted a third-inning slam off Alay Soler that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead. Rodriguez watched the ball, tossed his bat and slapped his hands together in what was a relatively modest celebration compared to some. He also looked into the Yankee dugout, which set off the Mets catcher and nearly started a fight.

"It upset me a little that he threw the bat and looked at their dugout," Lo Duca said. "Me, I'm trying to protect my pitcher and I don't want to see my pitcher get shown up, so I let him know that."

As Rodriguez neared the plate, Lo Duca yapped at him. Rodriguez yapped back, before strapping plate umpire Tim McClelland pushed him away. Jason Giambi, who scored on the homer, then started toward Lo Duca, but McClelland pushed him away, too.

There were no further incidents, but many in the crowd of 55,212 stood the next time Rodriguez batted, trying to see if the two would continue bickering. They didn't.

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