Rocky road: Alex is happy to finish trip

TORONTO — Nobody is happier to be heading home to New York than Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees’ designated hitter went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Blue Jays, completing a dreadful 2-for-22 road trip with eight strikeouts.

“I felt like s--- today,” Rodriguez said. “I felt terrible. But you have to grind through it. Everyone is going to go through times like this. It’s just going to be good to have a change of scenery and get back home tomorrow.”

A-Rod’s struggles go back to the beginning of August. He’s hitting .143 (7-for-49) with no home runs and two RBI in his past 13 games, with 15 strikeouts.

“He’s chasing some pitches and the pitches he’s getting to hit, it just seems he’s missing them,” Joe Girardi said. “We’ve got to get him going. Hopefully we get home and he gets going again.”

Rodriguez said he feels fine physically, but he has been expanding his strike zone at times.

“Just keep working hard,” Rodriguez said. “Five, six-hundred at-bats, you’re going to go through ups and downs like the stock market. Just play along and be patient.”

SIXTH QUESTION

The Yankees haven’t officially decided to insert a sixth starter into the rotation during the next turn, but given Masahiro Tanaka’s 112-pitch performance Saturday and Ivan Nova’s minor finger injury, it’s safe to assume that Bryan Mitchell will get a start, unless he’s used as a long reliever in the next couple of days.

“You think about it because of what happened to Nova, he got hit with a pitch; it gives him an extra day,” Girardi said. “And then you give Tanaka an extra day. Some of it is based on need, if we can do it.”

Michael Pineda was slated to throw 45 pitches at DoubleA Trenton on Sunday night, but Girardi said he won’t factor into the decision. Pineda could return from the DL next week or possibly make one more minorleague start. “It all depends how he feels and based on our need,” Girardi said. “A lot of it, too, on how he feels (Monday).”

COMFORTS OF HOME?

The Yankees have 46 games left, with 26 at home including the next 10. Given their 32-21 record in the Bronx, Girardi is hoping the Bombers can make the most of their schedule.

“We really only have one sixday road trip. We have one road trip that’s nine days but three of them are in New York,” Girardi said, referring to the Sept. 1820 series at Citi Field against the Mets. “The travel is favorable to us. We’re at home, which is good for us. We need to take advantage of it.”