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Alex Rodriguez slides safely into second base in Cleveland after hitting a double Wednesday night. The Yankees third baseman goes 2-for-5 but fails to hit home run No. 600.

Â*CLEVELAND - Listening to Alex Rodriguez after Wednesday night's game, you'd think he was doing his best impression of Robert De Niro's Al Capone in "The Untouchables."

It was all about teamwork.

A-Rod's homerless streak reached 26 at-bats as he continues his pursuit of No. 600, but a 2-for-5 night in the Yankees' 8-0win left a big smile on the third baseman's face.

"I liked my approach better tonight," Rodriguez said. "The more I can think about the team, how I can help the team win and be productive, the better it will be for the team and for everyone."

After jumping out to an 8-0 lead, the entire Yankees team would have loved to see A-Rod make history with his 600th homer and put an end to the chase that is entering its seventh day.

A-Rod is 8-for-26 (.308) with six RBI since he hit No. 599 last Thursday in the Bronx, but his homerless streak between 599 and 600 now stands as the longest by any player pursuing the milestone. A-Rod had been tied with Willie Mays at 21 at-bats entering Wednesday night.

"It's going to happen," Joe Girardi said. "Until it does, we'll continue to talk about it. (Thursday) would be a good day."

A-Rod singled in a run in the first, popped out to second base in the second and struck out with the bases loaded to end the third. His final two at-bats - an RBI double in the sixth and a fly out to right in the eighth - came with the Yankees holding an eight-run lead, but he said he wasn't thinking about anything other than keeping his same approach at the plate.

"Thinking small is what we need," Rodriguez said. "If I keep the frame of mind of trying to do the little things and help the team win, it's going to be a lot easier."

A-Rod's double provided a humorous moment as he slid into second, where the bag popped out of the ground and into his hands.

"I thought the milestone was doubles, so I took the base with me," Rodriguez deadpanned. "It just popped right out. I've never seen that before."

His final crack at 600 came in the eighth, as he engaged in a 10-pitch battle with righthander Frank Hermann. After working the count full, A-Rod fouled off three straight pitches, the third of which he thought he could have driven out of the park.

Hermann won the battle in the end, getting Rodriguez to fly out to shallow right field, delaying history for at least one more day.

"I felt really good about my at-bats today," Rodriguez said. "I got in some deeper counts, saw more pitches, and my swing overall was a little shorter. That's all good."

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