Alex Rodriguez's three-run home run held up, and Michael Pineda pitched a gem as the New York Yankees (25-22) completed a three-game sweep of the A.L. Central-leading Kansas City Royals (28-18) with a 4-2 win Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. 

Rodriguez came to bat with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third and Brett Gardner and Chase Headley on base. He lined a 0-1 breaking ball from Chris Young just over the left-field wall to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

With that home run (11), Rodriguez, AKA "A-Rod," passed two Yankee legends on the all-time RBI list. He passed Lou Gehrig for fourth place with 1,995, putting himself one behind Barry Bonds for third place -- or second depending on the list considered. Interestingly enough, Baseball Almanac's all-time RBI list shows Babe Ruth in second place at 2,213. However, as MLB.com's Danny Knobler reported Wednesday afternoon, there is discrepancy as to the official RBI leaderboard count. Knobler writes,

"According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of Major League Baseball, Gehrig's career RBI total is 1,993, which now places him fifth on the all-time list. RBIs did not become an official statistic until 1920, and Elias discounts the RBIs Ruth collected before that season. Elias lists his career total as 1,992."

Officially, according to Elias, Ruth is now in sixth place, and Rodriguez is third. 

A-Rod's home run is #665 of his career and hit #2,980 -- good for #30 all-time. He should reach 3,000 hits at some point in mid-June.

Both teams scored in the first inning with Kansas City's Mike Moustakas taking Pineda deep (5) for a solo shot. The Yankees tied it up in the bottom half thanks to Brian McCann's solo home run (6). Kansas City added one more in the eighth on Kendrys Morales's infield single that turned into a run-scoring throwing error by shortstop Didi Gregorius.

Pineda (W: 6-2, 3.36 ERA) shined as he pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run, six-hit ball while walking only one and striking out eight. Dellin Betances extended his no-earned-run streak to 26 innings to start the season. The Royals' eighth-inning run was unearned because of the throwing error that allowed Lorezno Cain to score. Andrew Miller (S: 14) pitched a perfect ninth to continue his own dominant 2015 performance. Miller has a 0.84 ERA.

Young (L: 4-1, 1.55) allowed four earned runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked two, struck out seven, and served up both Yankee home runs. 

On Thursday, the first-place Yankees travel to the Bay Area to start a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics. Kansas City has Thursday off and then visits Wrigley Field for a weekend Interleague series with the Chicago Cubs beginning Friday.

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About the author
Raymond Bureau
Raymond became a baseball fan at a very young age. He played baseball through high school and soon after became a varsity coach. He is now the P.A. announcer at his high school where he teaches. Raymond previously produced radio sports talk shows and hosted a weekly MLB radio call-in show. His favorite teams are the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Raymond is a devoted husband, father, and Christ follower. His life verses are Philippians 4:13, John 14:6, and Isaiah 41:10.