Could A-Rod’s 4K night be his last as a Yankees starter?

10:55 PM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Has Alex Rodriguez started his last game for the New York Yankees?

That question, not long ago seemingly too outlandish to bother asking, is now very much in play following A-Rod’s nightmare of a game Saturday against Drew Smyly and the Tampa Bay Rays, in which he was given a rare opportunity to start, and struck out, both figuratively and literally.

It will be difficult now for Rodriguez to present a logical argument to manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees front office that there is still life in his 41-year-old bat and that he should be given more, not fewer, chances to demonstrate it.

“I had a chance to make my case tonight and I didn’t do a good job of that,” he said. “I didn’t do myself any favors tonight, that’s for sure.’’

Despite being given his first start since July 22, you could make the case that Rodriguez was being set up to fail. In the eight days between starts, he had gotten precisely one at-bat, in the ninth inning of Friday night’s 5-1 loss, and made as much of it as he could, bouncing a single into left field.

Alex Rodriguez flips his bat after his fourth strikeout, which opened Saturday’s ninth inning of the Yankees’ loss to the Rays. Brian Blanco/Getty Images

But he was now being asked to produce against Smyly, who despite his horrendous record this season — he came in 2-11 with a 5.42 ERA — has always been tough against the Yankees, against whom he earned one of those wins back in April, and against Rodriguez, whom he had struck out six times in eight career at-bats.

Smyly ran true to form, pitching six innings of two-run ball in the Rays’ 6-3 victory at Tropicana Field. No one, except for Brett Gardner, who homered in the third inning, hit much. A-Rod did not hit at all.

On this night, Rodriguez would strike out …

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