No DL for A-Rod and his ailing calf?

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been dealing with a balky calf for some time now. And it didn’t get any better on Friday night when he felt a shooting pain as he left the batter’s box against the Seattle Mariners.

The good news for the Yankees and their AL East division push is that manager Joe Girardi doesn’t think he’s going to have to send him to the disabled list.

However, he did acknowledge that he’s “probably going to miss a few more games.”

Girardi didn’t regret starting him last night, even though it turned out to be a bad decision.

“Hindsight is always 20-20,” Girardi said. “He was ready. It’s not like I said ‘Al, I need you to play tonight,’ not like I begged him. Everyone thought he was ready to go and that’s why we put him in there.”

A-Rod isn’t exactly sure how he re-tweaked the calf, but he said it’s not like it got a lot worse.

“I just felt something on my swing, my first step out of the box, the same stiffness I felt a few days ago,” said Rodriguez. “I’m not going to say it’s any worse. I think it’s probably the same. I didn’t run fast enough or make a sudden move to make it worse.

“I just felt it. I’ve never had a calf situation before, so it’s hard to gauge what you can play through and endure. I’ve played through a lot of injuries before, whether it’s a quad or a hammy. There’s really nothing you can do without your calves.”

The Yankees currently hold a one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays and will probably need A-Rod down the stretch.