A-Rod smacks 1st homer since September 2013, No. 655 of career

He's back. 

Embattled New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez slugged his first home run since Sept. 20, 2013 on Thursday.

After striking out and walking in his first two plate appearances against Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Daniel Norris, Rodriguez turned around on the rookie's 89-mph offering and deposited it over the fence in left field, much to the delight of the Bronx faithful.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"I felt like I needed a Google map to get around the bases," Rodriguez joked after the game. 

"It's been a while."

Rodriguez, who missed all of the 2014 season for a performance-enhancing drug suspension, is five homers shy of tying Hall of Famer Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time home run leaderboard. His sixth-inning blast was the 655th homer of his career.

Mark Teixeira followed Rodriguez's bomb by smacking a solo shot of his own, also his first of the season. 

New York didn't add any runs after that, falling to Toronto 6-3.