(Nick Wass of the AP and Joe Giza of Reuters)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.Y. Yankees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
With only four men reaching base all night Burnett didn't find himself in too much trouble tonight. A two-out single by Ty Wigginton in the second and another two-out single one inning later by Adam Jones were the only baserunners over the first five innings. Then, in the sixth, the O's put two of the first three on when Cesar Izturis singled and Nick Markakis walked, but Burnett got Matt Wieters to ground out and Miguel Tejada to fly out to end the the only real threat the O's had in the game.
Burnett relied mostly on a mix of four and two-seam fastballs, throwing 86 fastballs out of 116 pitches. His command on both was as good as we've seen this year, and his velocity was also very good, topping out at 96.5 mph and averaging 93.75 with the four-seamer.
Prior to the season, Burnett spoke about how he wanted to limit his walks, get away from deep counts, and go deeper into games, and that's exactly what we've seen from Burnett at the start of the season. This is already the third start this year where Burnett lasted at least 7 innings, and in each of his five starts he's walked three or less. Whatever adjustments he's made seem to be working, and while they've led to a drop in strikeouts, his walks are also way down, groundballs are way up, and it's making him a better pitcher.
“I’m learning more and more how to throw the ball to both sides of the plate with movement,” Burnett said after his gem. “…I felt unbelievable. I don’t feel like I threw a pitch tonight. I wish I could feel that good all the time.”
As for Cano, the dude is unconscious right now. Tonight, he went 3-for-4, with two homers, two RBI, and three runs scored. Both homers came off left-handed pitching--a Brian Matusz curve in the 4th and an Alberto Castillo fastball in the 8th. He was about four feet from hitting three homers when he launched a deep fly in the sixth, but he had to settle for a double off the top of the right-field wall. This concludes a road trip that saw him go 17-for-34 with 4 HR, 7 RBI, and 11 runs scored, and he's now leading the majors with a .407 batting average.
He also made this outstanding defensive play in the third. If you missed the play or cannot view the video linked above, Nolan Reimold led off the bottom of the third with a grounder up the middle. Cano ranged to his right, fielded the ball, and fired a strike to first, against his momentum, to get Reimold by a step at first. Getting to the ball was tough enough, but that throw was a thing of beauty. You can't say enough about the way Cano is playing right now.
Marcus Thames also had a nice game, going 3-for-3, with a double, an RBI, and a walk. He's now 10-for-18 against left-handed pitching this year. I still don't think he should be taking too much time away from Brett Gardner, but until Nick Johnson starts hitting, I think the Yanks should continue DHing him against lefties like they did tonight. Having him DH also keeps him out of left, which is good for all of us.
After Burnett finished off his night with a strikeout of Adam Jones, Mariano Rivera came in for the final three outs. Mo walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth. Tonight's win gives the Yanks another series win to make it 6 out of 7 on the season.
The Yanks now head back to the Bronx to start six-game homestand against the White Sox and Orioles. Andy Pettitte looks to improve to 4-0 as he takes on Freddy Garcia in tomorrow's opener against Chicago. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on YES.
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Derek Jeter, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .311 |
| Nick Swisher, RF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .264 |
| Mark Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .139 |
| Alex Rodriguez, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 |
| Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .407 |
| Marcus Thames, DH | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .588 |
| Curtis Granderson, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .230 |
| Francisco Cervelli, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .409 |
| Brett Gardner, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .306 |
| Totals | 36 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | |
| BATTING | ||||||||
| 2B: Teixeira (4, Matusz), Cano (5, Matusz), Thames (3, Matusz), Gardner (2, Castillo, A). HR: Cano 2 (8, 4th inning off Matusz, 0 on, 1 out; 8th inning off Castillo, A, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter 2; Teixeira 2; Cano 10; Thames 4; Cervelli; Gardner 2. RBI: Rodriguez, A (13), Cano 2 (17), Thames (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Gardner 2; Swisher. SF: Rodriguez, A. Team RISP: 1-for-8. Team LOB: 7. | ||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| A.J. Burnett (W,3-0) | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Mariano Rivera | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| WP: Burnett, A. Pitches-strikes: Burnett, A 116-77, Rivera, Ma 13-8. Groundouts-flyouts: Burnett, A 11-7, Rivera, Ma 0-2. Batters faced: Burnett, A 28, Rivera, Ma 4. |
| CO-PLAYERS OF THE GAME:Robinson Cano & A.J. Burnett HONORABLE MENTION: Marcus Thames |
