Colon surprised Yankees didn't play his 'dad' A-Rod

When New York Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon was lined up to pitch against the New York Yankees on Thursday, he assumed that when lineup cards were released Alex Rodriguez would be on them.

The Yankees opted not to play A-Rod, who owns a .432 lifetime average with seven home runs and 19 RBIs against Colon, however, and instead chose to deploy Gary Sanchez as the designated hitter.

The move to play Sanchez in favor of Rodriguez paid some dividends, as the youngster recorded two hits and scored the Yankees lone run in a 4-1 loss, but A-Rod's absence from the lineup surprised Colon nonetheless.

"We all know he hits well against me," Colon said in his post-game interview. "I was surprised not to see him. That's my dad."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said prior to the game he wasn't sure when Rodriguez would get back into the lineup, but he wants to continue to use Sanchez while he's at the big-league level.

''I can't really tell you when I'm going to play him,'' Girardi said of Rodriguez, according to The Associated Press. ''We called Sanchez up and he's going to play."

Girardi's comments were in line with ones made by general manager Brian Cashman on Thursday, who said A-Rod would not be given at-bats over promising youngsters.

"(Alex) will not be taking at-bats away from people that we need to see more from or give an opportunity to," Cashman told MLB Network Radio.

The 41-year-old Rodriguez hasn't started a game since July 30, when he struck out in all four of his at-bats, and has made just one pinch-hit appearance this month so far.

Overall, he's hitting just .204/.252/.356 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs across 234 plate appearances this season.