Burnett gives Yankees confident outing
October 30, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—A.J. Burnett(notes) hardly got any attention. He just got the win.
Almost an afterthought in his matchup with colorful star Pedro Martinez(notes),Burnett challenged Philadelphia right from the start Thursday night and gave theNew York Yankees the confident pitching performance they desperately needed.
Throwing first-pitch strikes to his first 11 batters, Burnett overpowered adangerous Phillies lineup and led New York to a 3-1 victory that tied the WorldSeries at one game apiece.
No longer will Burnett be considered the weak link in the Yankees’ rotationbetween CC Sabathia(notes) and Andy Pettitte(notes). The right-hander has his first win infour postseason starts—and this one was huge.
After losing with their ace, Sabathia, on the mound in Game 1, the Yankeesturned to Burnett in a crucial situation. That left plenty of fans nervous—Burnett can be erratic, and he lacks a playoff pedigree.
But boy, did he deliver.
The hard-throwing Burnett struck out nine—fanning slugger Ryan Howard(notes)three times—and walked only two in seven stellar innings. Outpitching a wilyMartinez, he allowed four hits, including Matt Stairs’(notes) run-scoring single withtwo outs in the second.
Burnett recovered quickly, striking out Pedro Feliz(notes), and was in charge therest of the way. After Carlos Ruiz’s(notes) fifth-inning double, he retired his finaleight batters and handed the lead directly to closer Mariano Rivera(notes) for asix-out save.
Exactly what the Yankees were looking for.
Burnett signed an $82.5 million, five-year contract with New York as a freeagent last winter and went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA during the regular season,leading the AL with 97 walks. Normally quiet, he began a ritual of pastingteammates in the face with whipped cream pies after walk-off wins.
Fans fell in love with the playful tradition, but they were waiting forBurnett to come through on the mound in October.
Admittedly antsy before big games, Burnett had a chance to clinch the ALchampionship series in Game 5 last week, but he gave up four runs in the firstinning to Los Angeles. When the Yankees rallied to take the lead, Burnett failedto put away the Angels in the seventh. Pettitte finally ended the series in Game6.
This time, Burnett quieted the Phillies all night.
After saying on Wednesday that he looked forward to his matchup withMartinez, Burnett was in control the whole way. When he fanned Howard with abreaking ball in the third, stranding two runners, the pitcher pumped his fistas he walked off the mound.
