Rodriguez in lineup as analyst

Ex-Yankees star in FS1 booth

Alex Rodriguez will make his television booth debut Thursday night — not only as a TV analyst, but in any capacity.

“It will be the first night I think that I’ve ever sat in a booth, just inside of one, physically,” he said as he prepared to work the New York Yankees-Kansas City Royals game alongside Kevin Burkhardt on FS1.

After Rodriguez got strong reviews as a studio analyst the past two Octobers, he joined Fox full time this year.

Two days later, he will be in the booth again, joining Joe Buck on Fox for the Los Angeles Angels at New York Mets, the start of a slate of select games hewill work in the booth.

“There’s nothing like real-life situations and seeing the game from a helicopter view all the way up there,” he said. “It’s going to be a different lens for me, and I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m especially lucky and grateful that I get to call a Yankee game. That’s pretty cool.

“Anytime you know the personnel and know them well and you can go pretty deep on every man on the roster, coaches, manager, all of that, I think it helps you give a better analysis to the folks at home.”

Braves

Slugger Freddie Freeman had to leave the game against Toronto after getting struck on the left wrist by a pitch in the fifth inning. The umpires initially ruled that Aaron Loup’s pitch did not hit Freeman. But with the Atlanta star in obvious pain, the Braves challenged and the call was reversed after a video review. Freeman headed to the clubhouse with no immediate word on the seriousness of the injury.

Cubs

Kris Bryant broke his bat on a lineout in the first inning. A piece of Bryant’s bat got stuck high up in the netting near the home dugout. A Cubs worker came out and tried to shake the lumber loose to no avail. The worker then tried throwing a ball at it, just like at a little league game, but the ball stayed put despite all efforts.

Tigers

Miguel Cabrera was a late scratch from Detroit’s starting lineup against Baltimore because of a sore left side. Cabrera was expected to have further testing.