SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Alex Rodriguez's season in the spotlight began with a thud. Two of them.
The $252 million shortstop made a throwing error on his first fielding chance of the season and tripped to the turf twice in his debut with the Texas Rangers, an 8-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday in the major league opener in Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez was off to a shining start, getting the season's first hit and scoring the first run.
But in the bottom of the second inning, Rodriguez threw short of first base after stopping a grounder by local hero Carlos Delgado. On the next play, Rodriguez stumbled on the seam of the turf around second base while trying to turn a double play.
Only he was to blame for the next pratfall as Rodriguez tripped over his own left shoelace while charging a grounder hit right at him in the seventh. No error was called and the Blue Jays scored four times in the inning.
Rodriguez, whose record-shattering deal averages $129,630 per game this season, went 2-for-4 at the plate.
He singled again — a hard roller through the left side, just like his first hit — then struck out looking and popped out to second base.
After the strikeout, he walked to the dugout shaking his head and muttering after umpire John Hirschbeck called him out on a wide strike. Andres Galarraga later had the same complaint — high strikes, however, did not seem to be a factor.
Rodriguez wasn't alone with turf problems. Teammate Ken Caminiti caught a cleat on the seam around third base and went down throwing to first.
Toronto, though, wasn't affected by any of it in the first game marking the American League's 100th anniversary.
Shannon Stewart went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and an RBI double and scored twice, and Tony Batista hit a two-run homer on a fly that took advantage of the short dimensions at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. It's 313 down the line in right and 315 in left, where Batista's ball went.
Esteban Loiaza (1-0) rewarded rookie manager Buck Martinez for making him the opening day starter by throwing six shutout innings after giving up Rafael Palmeiro's RBI double in the first.
Loiaza, who has a 49-52 career record and lost rotation spots in Pittsburgh and Texas, allowed eight hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out nine, the most ever by a Blue Jay on opening day.
Rick Helling (0-1) sailed through the first three innings but ended up allowing four runs on six hits in six innings.
Other than A-Rod's odyssey, the game lacked the salsa many of the local fans hoped for, especially those who began waiting in line at 5 a.m. — 11 hours before the first pitch.