• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rangers-Yankees Preview

Aug 27, 2009 - 4:05 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Texas (70-54) at New York (78-47), 1:05 p.m. EDT

It's been a month since A.J. Burnett won a game. Facing the Texas Rangers might help him end his rough stretch.

The right-hander looks to avoid a fourth straight loss while trying to help the New York Yankees to a second straight win and series victory over the visiting Rangers on Thursday.

Burnett (10-7, 4.08 ERA) hopes to close out a disappointing August on a positive note and bounce back from his worst outing of the season.

He allowed nine runs and nine hits - including three homers - in five innings of a 14-1 loss at Boston on Saturday. Burnett fell to 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA in his last five starts since going 5-0 with a 2.01 ERA in six outings from June 27-July 27.

Burnett once again disagreed with catcher Jorge Posada about pitch selection in his last start, a matter manager Joe Girardi feels has been blown out of proportion.

"I think people are trying to make this a bigger story than it needs to be," Girardi told the Yankees' official Web site. "It comes down to execution of the pitch, which is the most important thing - more important than pitch selection or anything else.

"We talk about the importance of A.J. and the location of his fastball. When he throws his fastball where he wants, he's really, really good."

Burnett's been good against Texas, going 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA in seven starts lifetime, and 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA this season.

Posada hit a three-run homer and Andy Pettitte threw seven solid innings Wednesday as the AL East-leading Yankees (79-47) evened this series with a 9-2 victory.

"They're an explosive team and we knew that," said Rangers manager Ron Washington, whose team was held in check after winning 10-9 in Tuesday's opener. "All you can do is put this game away and look towards (Thursday's) game."

Posada is 3 for 7 with two homers and six RBIs in the series, but is day to day after leaving Wednesday's game with a bruised finger.

Also uncertain is the status of slugger Alex Rodriguez, who left in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his foot.

"My biggest concern is always injuries," Girardi said, "and it's something you can't control."

Hideki Matsui had two hits and is 6 for 12 in his last three games for New York, which is six games ahead of second-place Boston.

Matsui is batting .370 this season against the Rangers (70-55), who are 2 1/2 games behind the wild-card leading Red Sox.

Josh Hamilton had three hits and Daniel Murphy added a homer with two RBIs on Wednesday, but Texas lost for the fifth time in eight games and fell to 2-3 on its nine-game road trip.

Hamilton is 7 for 10 in the series, and 4 for 9 with two doubles and a homer against Burnett.

Rangers starter Dustin Nippert (4-2, 3.95) will make his first appearance against New York.

The right-hander allowed five runs in five innings of a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday, falling to 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five road starts.