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Yankees' Fill-In Eric Chavez Makes Rangers Pay

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Eric Chavez has 230 home runs and a wealth of experience obtained during 13 major league seasons.

That's not a bad bat to have ready on the bench.

Chavez, filling in for an ailing Alex Rodriguez, singled home the tiebreaking run off left-hander Arthur Rhodes in the eighth inning for the Yankees on Sunday night. The Yankees won, 6-5.

"When I made the decision to come here, I knew what it was going to be. Obviously, Alex is going to play a ton of games and when I get in there I've just got to be ready to play," said Chavez, in his initial season with the Yankees after spending his first 13 in Oakland. "I'm going to keep the same approach the whole year."

Mark Teixeira drew a one-out walk from Rhodes (0-1) in the eighth and Nick Swisher singled with two outs. Chavez, in a lefty-on-lefty matchup, lined a single up the middle and Teixeira scored with a slide ahead of the looping throw from center fielder Julio Borbon.

Rangers manager Ron Washington was comfortable with the matchup. It just didn't work out in his favor.

"Arthur was the right guy," Washington said. "You've got to give credit to Eric Chavez."

Chavez is 7 for 15 (.467) with three RBIs this season.

"It was a good pitch, man. It was down and away," Rhodes said. "You've got to tip your hat to the guy when you make a good pitch and he hits it. That was it."

Do you think GM Brian Cashman's offseason moves are paying dividends for the Bombers? Let us know in the comments below...

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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