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TORONTO — The last time A.J. Burnett reached a sixth inning, it was the baseball version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Last Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, the Toronto Blue Jays' right-hander took five innings of two-hit ball and an 8-1 lead into the sixth and coughed up six runs, resulting in his departure after 51/3 innings. The Jays hung on for a 9-8 victory.
So when Burnett reached the sixth inning in a similar situation Sunday against the New York Yankees — five innings of two-hit ball and a 4-0 lead — the 43,854 sun-drenched fans at the Rogers Centre could have been in store for something ugly.
The fans got their monster all right, but this one would soon roar along with the entire stadium.
Marco Scutaro blasts a three-run homer against the Yankees. (Aaron Harris/CP)
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- New York Yankees
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Rod Barajas
- A.J. Burnett
- Jason Giambi
- Roy Halladay
- Aaron Hill
- Joe Inglett
- Derek Jeter
- Jesse Litsch
- Kevin Mench
- John Parrish
- Andy Pettitte
- Jorge Posada
- Alex Rios
- Mariano Rivera
- Alex Rodriguez
- Scott Rolen
- B.J. Ryan
- Marco Scutaro
- Vernon Wells
With one out and Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez on base, Burnett abruptly ended any possible Yankees rally, forcing Jason Giambi to fly out, then roaring after he struck out catcher Jorge Posada to end the inning.
"I was pretty pumped that we got out of that," said Burnett, 10-8, who was marvellous over 81/3 innings, striking out eight batters and walking one in a 4-1 Jays victory.
Burnett was pitching on only three days of rest to aid a depleted pitching rotation that has Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum out with injuries.
"He was determined," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said of the sometimes erratic Burnett, the subject of trade rumours. "You could see it in his eyes from the first pitch he was going to have a good day."
The Jays took two games in the three-game series against the Yankees. The victory means the Jays head to the All-Star Game break with a losing record, 47-48, for the second consecutive year. Any hope the Jays had of fulfilling Gaston's goal of reaching the break with a record of .500 or better was dashed after a sloppy 9-4 loss to the Yankees on Saturday that killed a four-game winning streak.
"I know I said we'd love to get to .500 before the all-star break, and it didn't happen," Gaston said before Sunday's game. "But I also said if it didn't [reach .500], we'd just keep trying."
Gaston is 12-9 since taking over as the manager after John Gibbons was fired on June 20.
He said that if the Jays want to contend for the American League wild card or even the AL East title, they have to start stringing together a few series wins. "If we can put a few of those together, it should be very interesting," he said.
In the second inning Sunday, Marco Scutaro stroked a three-run home run over the left-field wall against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. It was the third home run this season for the second baseman, who, going into Sunday's game, was batting .300 over his 17 previous games.
Scott Rolen opened the scoring earlier in the inning with a single to right field that brought home Kevin Mench, whose leadoff double had ended a 0-14 dry spell.
"We're on a roll," Jays catcher Rod Barajas said. "We're pitching pretty good, we're swinging the bats. It's kind of a shame the break did come now because when you're on a roll, you want to keep going."
Burnett took a shutout into the ninth inning, but it was foiled by Giambi, who smacked a solo home run over the left-field wall. Posada, the next batter, singled, bringing Burnett's day to a close and Jays fans to their feet with an ovation. Closer B.J. Ryan earned his 18th save of the season.
Burnett said it occurred to him there's a chance his time in a Toronto uniform is limited, but he was instead focusing on his team's positive finish to the first half of the season.
"Like I said before, I wear the Blue Jay on my chest and on my hat until I'm told otherwise," Burnett told reporters after the game.
Before Sunday's game, there was a moment of silence for former Yankee and broadcaster Bobby Murcer, who died on Saturday of complications from brain cancer. He was 62. The Yankees' players wore black arm bands in remembrance of Murcer, a five-time all-star who spent 40 seasons with the Yankees as a player and broadcaster.
