Yankees 5 - 6 Blue Jays
Final/10
  for this game

Burnett tries to extend April success in clash with Jays

Apr 19, 2011 - 2:33 PM

Video

(Sports Network) - A.J. Burnett is off to another strong start for the New York Yankees. How long the early success lasts is another question.

Burnett will put his unbeaten mark on the line tonight in the opener of a short two-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Burnett is 3-0 with a pedestrian 4.67 earned run average in three starts -- all at home -- and squeezed by Baltimore for a win the previous time out last Wednesday. Burnett, a former Blue Jay, allowed four runs and seven hits over a season-high 6 1/3 innings of a 7-4 win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

The right-hander struck out five and has fanned at least that many batters in all three of his starts. Burnett has gone 8-0 with a 4.04 ERA in 13 April starts since joining the Yankees in 2009. He was 3-0 in five April starts a year ago, but went on to finish with a 10-15 mark in 33 outings.

New York is three games ahead of both Tampa Bay and Toronto for the AL East lead and has won two straight and four of five games, including Sunday night's 6-5 victory versus the Texas Rangers in the Bronx. Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Russell Martin each belted a home run, while starter CC Sabathia did not figure into the decision for yielding four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. The lefty struck out six batters.

Rafael Soriano collected the win in relief and Mariano Rivera tacked on his seventh save thanks to a perfect ninth inning. Yankees All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez did not play Sunday because of stiffness in his lower back and is listed as day-to-day. A-Rod could miss tonight's game if he's not ready.

Meanwhile, the Jays have dropped three straight and seven of nine games, including Monday's 9-1 loss to Boston in the finale of a four-game set.

Toronto starter Ricky Romero gave up five runs on eight hits with five walks in 4 1/3 innings to suffer the loss. Yunel Escobar's solo home run off of Tim Wakefield in the ninth inning provided the scoring for Toronto.

"We weren't in it from the start and it kind of got progressively worse from there," said Blue Jays manager John Farrell. "Their lineup is deep and there's really no breather for a pitcher."

Farrell's ballclub has scored one run in each of the past three games.

Taking the mound for the Blue Jays tonight will be promising young right- hander Kyle Drabek. Drabek is 1-0 with a 1.93 earned run average in three starts this season and has recorded back-to-back no-decisions since defeating Minnesota in his 2011 debut.

In last Wednesday's 8-3 win at Seattle, Drabek held the Mariners to a pair of runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out five batters for the second straight outing. He has fanned at least five batters in every outing. The right-hander lost his only start against the Yankees last Sept. 28, when he permitted three runs in six innings of a 6-1 loss.

Toronto won 10 of the 18 meetings with New York last season, including six of the nine matchups held at Roger Centre.






Related News