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Yankees try to rebound against Pavano after rout

Apr 19, 2009 - 1:57 AM By Santosh Venkataraman Stats Senior Writer

Cleveland (4-8) at NY Yankees (6-6), 1:05 p.m. EDT

BRONX, New York (AP) -- New York Yankees fans weren't happy after an embarrassing, lopsided loss. Their mood is unlikely to improve when they see who the Cleveland Indians are starting Sunday.

The Indians will send Carl Pavano - a bust with the Yankees for four years - to the mound as they try to capture this four-game set.

New York (6-6) allowed 14 runs in the second inning of a 22-4 loss Saturday. It was the most runs for the Indians since they beat New York 22-0 on Aug. 31, 2004, at the old Yankee Stadium. The 22 runs also tied the Yankees' record for most allowed in a home game.

"I haven't seen this many big innings in a long while," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We expected pitching to be a strength and sometimes it has been. But at other times not."

Yankees fans will probably turn their boos towards Pavano (0-2, 16.71 ERA), who was a bust for New York after signing a four-year, $40 million contract in 2005. Pavano endured an injury-plagued tenure with the Yankees, going 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA in 26 starts over the four seasons.

He was already booed loudly during Thursday's pregame introductions at the new Yankee Stadium.

"It was nothing that was surprising yesterday," Indians manager Eric Wedge said Friday. "I don't think anybody is going to be surprised by anything on Sunday."

The right-hander hasn't fared much better so far for Cleveland (4-8). He bounced back a bit from a nine-run outing in his April 9 Indians debut, allowing four runs over six innings Tuesday in a 9-3 loss at Kansas City.

Pavano did have eight strikeouts in a game for the first time in nearly five years.

"I need to do a better job of keeping the ball down and keeping it in the infield," he said.

He has faced the Yankees just twice in his career, going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA. Pavano hasn't pitched against them since 2000.

The Yankees will start Pavano's former teammate in Florida - A.J. Burnett (2-0, 2.70). This will be the home debut for Burnett, who signed a $82.5 million, five-year contract in the offseason.

After winning his first Yankees start April 9 at Baltimore, Burnett took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Tuesday at Tampa Bay. He lasted eight innings, giving up two runs and three hits in a 7-2 victory.

"I had good movement on everything. I was putting the ball where I wanted," Burnett said. "It definitely could have happened. But it wasn't meant to be."

The right-hander is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last four starts against the Indians.

Burnett will try to slow down an offense that produced 25 hits Saturday. Mark DeRosa went 4-for-7 and tied a career high with six RBIs, while Asdrubal Cabrera tied a career mark with four hits and drove in five runs.

The Yankees have allowed a double-digit run total in three of their last six games, including a 10-2 loss Thursday in the first game at the new Yankee Stadium.

Mark Teixeira had a two-run homer for New York on Saturday. Teixeira has homered in consecutive games, but is still hitting only .194 (6-for-31).