Burnett wins again as Yankees top Twins
July 9, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—A.J. Burnett’s(notes) fastball was out of control. His curveballwasn’t working. His changeup was ineffective.
This was the type of test he might not have passed earlier in his career,but Burnett fought through his problems and pitched the New York Yankees towardyet another win over the Minnesota Twins.
Burnett won his third straight start, and Brett Gardner’s(notes) two-run singlehelped the Yankees build an early lead and beat the Twins 4-3 on Wednesdaynight.
“It was a mental grind out there,” said Burnett, who walked four, gave upseven hits and threw three wild pitches while only striking out two.
Joe Mauer(notes) drove in runs for the Twins with a double and a homer and becameeligible for the AL batting race, a competition in which he now officially holdsa big lead, but Phil Hughes(notes) and Mariano Rivera(notes) kept up some recently strong workby the bullpen over the last three weeks. They preserved the Yankees’ sixthvictory over Minnesota in as many games this season, giving them 17 wins intheir last 23 meetings.
Series at a Glance NY Yankees 10 Minnesota 2 Tue, Jul 7 – Final NY Yankees 4 Minnesota 3 Wed, Jul 8 – Final NY Yankees at Minnesota Thu, Jul 9 – 1:10 pm ET
“No one likes to lose to the Yankees,” Twins outfielder Denard Span(notes) said.“It is a tough one to swallow when you’re in the game the whole way, you loseby one.”
Burnett (8-4) got the first out of the seventh inning, before left-handerPhil Coke(notes) gave up Mauer’s 15th homer. Coke and Hughes each recorded an out tofinish the seventh, and Rivera relieved with two outs in the eighth to notch his22nd save. In their last 22 games, Yankees relievers are 4-1 with only 14 earnedruns allowed.
“It seems like every team we’ve got a tight lead, we do our jobs downthere,” Hughes said. “You look at any winning team, and they have that.”
Good starting pitching is even more important, which Burnett has helpedsolidify in his first season in pinstripes.
Span moved from second to third and from third to home on two of Burnett’s95 mph fastballs that went zipping past catcher Jorge Posada(notes). Mauer just misseda home run on the next pitch, the ball bouncing back from the top of theleft-field wall, and his RBI double brought the Twins within 3-2.
Burnett leads the majors with 13 wild pitches this year, one shy of hiscareer high established in 2002 with the Marlins. There’s an upside to all thosehard-to-handle hurls, though: They’re hard to hit, too.
Michael Cuddyer(notes) struck out with the bases loaded to finish the fifth inningon two straight half-swings, the last on a curveball that broke and hit thedirt. Span also struck out to the end sixth with two runners on.
“You’ve got to figure out a way to get through it,” Burnett said.
Manager Joe Girardi was proud, calling it one of the right-hander’s“tougher” performances of the season.
“Pitchers mature. They learn how to pitch, and they learn how to be smarterwith their stuff,” Girardi said.
Posada and pitching coach Dave Eiland made a handful of trips to the mound.
“It seemed like when we went out there and tried to settle him down, he gotbetter,” Posada said.
Some silly self talk helped, too.
“If y’all could read my mind out there on the mound, y’all would crackup,” Burnett said.
Twins rookie Anthony Swarzak(notes) (2-3), back up from the minors after a decentdebut in May and June, was moved up one day in the rotation when Glen Perkins(notes)woke up sick. Swarzak gave up three runs in the second inning and AlexRodriguez’s(notes) RBI single with one out in the fifth before leaving. The rookieallowed eight hits and failed to record a strikeout for the first time in sixmajor league starts.
Before Rodriguez’s hit, Justin Morneau(notes) nearly made a long, running catch ofRodriguez’s foul ball, but it popped out of the first baseman’s glove in the NewYork bullpen.
“We’re competing with them, but we’ve got to beat them,” manager RonGardenhire said. “It’s the same story: We’re one hit away in almost every ballgame.”
NOTES: Posada had two hits, including his 327th career double that tied himwith Tony Lazzeri for 10th place on the team’s all-time list. … Mauer now has264 plate appearances, just enough to be eligible for the AL batting race he’swon twice already. He’s hitting .388—well ahead of Ichiro(notes) Suzuki (.356). …Gardenhire said Perkins could be pushed back in the rotation as far as Saturday.Francisco Liriano(notes) will start Thursday, and Nick Blackburn(notes) could move up toFriday.
