Yankees bench A-Rod, Granderson in do-or-die Game Four Wed Oct 17, 2012 7:05pm EDT (Reuters) - New York sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson were benched by the Yankees for Wednesday's do-or-die playoff game against the Detroit Tigers. Trailing 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Yankees needed to win the game to stay alive in the American League Championship but would have to do so without two of their regular starters. "This is not something that is easy to do," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters before the game. I think as a manager and as a team, at this time you have got to think about today, and you think about today only. The Yankees posted the best record of any team in the American League during the regular season but their power-hitting lineup has struggled to score runs during the playoffs, prompting Girardi's reshuffle. Rodriguez, Major League Baseball's highest-paid player with earnings this season of $29 million, stands fifth on the all-time home run list with 647 but has looked lost since returning after breaking his hand. "He has struggled against right-handers all season," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. It's obviously gotten worse here in the postseason with the strikeouts, so we're just making an adjustment and hoping it gives us a better shot. Rodriguez, who has been pinch-hit for and benched previously in the playoffs, has gone 3-for-23 in the postseason and will be replaced at third base by Eric Chavez, who has gone 0-for-14. Alex is going to wait for (his) opportunity. Right now it looks like in theory we'll do that against left‑handed pitching," Cashman said. That doesn't mean that he's done, that he's finished, that he is not capable. He is still a big threat, but for whatever reason right now we are adjusting to what we are seeing. Granderson, who finished second in the league with 43 home runs, has gone 3-for-29 postseason. The center-fielder will replaced by Brett Gardner, who went down with an elbow injury in April and was hitless in his return to the lineup on Tuesday. Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Julian Linden