The New York Yankees benched Alex Rodriguez at designated hitter on Sunday in favor of Carlos Beltran.

The move could lead to Rodriguez only being in the lineup against left-handers.

Rodriguez has a .584 OPS against right-handers this season.

"That had something to do with it, he has struggled against some right-handers and we will see what this looks like," Joe Girardi said.

Rodriguez's numbers are much better against lefties -- he has a .837 OPS against southpaws.

"We talked about giving Carlos some DH days in this long stretch [17 games in 17 days] and I would be more inclined to do it against right-handers than left-handers," Girardi said. "I know we have three games coming in San Diego where Carlos will have to play the field so a day off might have to come up here, too.

"We are trying to keep Carlos’ bat in the lineup as much as we can."