A.J. Burnett hadn’t won a game in weeks. He hadn’t felt good about a start in months. And he had never experienced victory as a member of the New York Yankees when the calendar flipped to August.
The Kansas City Royals were the perfect opponent to change all
that.
Burnett managed to scatter 10 singles over a shaky 5 2-3 innings Monday night, and Derek Jeter drove in three runs to help the Yankees beat Kansas City 7-4 and finally give the right-hander something to feel good about.
“It makes you feel a part of it,” Burnett said after his first victory since June 29, a stretch of seven mostly miserable starts.
“There are a lot of things to keep you not too content, but yeah,
it feels good.”
Burnett (9-9) had been winless in 13 starts in August since signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal with New York, going 0-8 with a 7.18 ERA. His late season struggles, combined with his poor recent performances, are a big reason that manager Joe Girardi has considered dropping him from the starting rotation.
But the right-hander had allowed only four runs over 26 1-3 innings against the Royals since joining the Yankees, so it figured that Burnett would have a good chance to get back on the right side of the ledger.
Brett Gardner added a pair of RBIs, and Mark Teixeira and pinch hitter Andruw Jones also drove in runs for the Yankees (73-46), who moved back into a tie with idle Boston for the AL East lead.
Mariano Rivera wrapped up the victory, pitching a perfect ninth
for his 31st save.
