Yankees Back Sharp-Looking Burnett With Some Help From Blue Jays

It was only 10 days ago when the game of baseball seemed to hate the Yankees. They had lost five of six games and had gone through a stretch in which they could barely score.

Now, after a 4-2 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday afternoon at the Stadium, baseball seems to love the Yankees again. They have won eight of nine, their latest victory coming on a two-run rally in which the baseball never left the infield.

It also helps to have good starting pitching.

The Yankees (46-33) got seven solid innings from A. J. Burnett (7-4), who allowed two runs, six hits and two walks while striking out seven. Since pledging to improve after a disastrous start in Boston on June 9, when he was pulled in the third inning, Burnett has allowed three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings. He is 3-1 in his last four starts.

“I wasn’t aware of the vow,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “I’m not surprised he backed it up, what he said to them.”

Two of those starts came against the injury-riddled, hit-deprived Mets, but regardless, Burnett and Girardi have seen an improvement in the past few weeks. The biggest and most important difference, Girardi said, was that Burnett had better control of his fastball and was able to get ahead of hitters early in the count. Burnett faced four 2-0 counts Friday.

“I really think it’s that simple, I do,” Girardi said. “Because he’s got good velocity and he’s got movement. And when he locates it, with the curveball he’s got he’s very tough to hit and we witnessed it on numerous occasions last year. It’s nice to have it over here.”

Last season, with Toronto, Burnett was 3-1 with a 1.64 earned run average against the Yankees. He defeated his old team for the first time after losing in Toronto (39-39) on May 12, when he allowed five runs in seven and two-thirds innings.

Burnett agreed with Girardi that the location of his fastball made a difference Friday, but he also said the change of venue helped.

“Completely different,” Burnett said. “It wasn’t the same. Not even close. Not even close. I didn’t even pay attention to who got in the box today, first time, it was kind of weird.”

The Yankees had a weird fifth inning, but it gave Burnett the cushion he needed. With the game tied at 1-1, Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter walked, quickly putting runners on first and second with no outs. Johnny Damon followed with a bunt down the first-base line. The first-base umpire Wally Bell said Damon beat the throw from Toronto starter Brian Tallet (5-6), although a television replay appeared to contradict the call.

With the bases loaded, Mark Teixeira walked on four pitches to score Gardner. Alex Rodriguez grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing Jeter at home, and up came Robinson Cano, who hit a solo homer in the second. Catcher Raul Chavez allowed a passed ball, scoring Damon. Cano then hit a grounder that forced Teixeira at home. Nick Swisher struck out, ending the inning.

“We had a chance maybe to break the game open and we weren’t able to do it and that happens,” Girardi said.

Luckily for the Yankees, Burnett and the bullpen were able to preserve the slim lead.

In previous games, when they struggled to score runs, such a missed opportunity could have done in the Yankees. But that was 10 days ago.

INSIDE PITCH

Alex Rodriguez hit his 567th home run in the eighth inning, putting him two behind Rafael Palmeiro for 10th place on the career list. It was his 14th homer of the season. The Yankees have said they will try to rest Rodriguez once every six games as he recovers from off-season hip surgery. Rodriguez played in his fourth consecutive game Friday. Joe Girardi said he planned to give Rodriguez a day off this weekend. ... After vowing this week that Brian Bruney was his eighth-inning reliever, Girardi handed the ball to a different set of relievers for the second straight time to preserve an eighth-inning lead. On Friday, Phil Coke and Phil Hughes combined to pitch a scoreless eighth, with the Yankees leading, 3-2. Girardi repeated his claim that Bruney, who missed several weeks with elbow problems, would keep that role. “I said the other day that Bruney was our eighth-inning guy, but I need to get him going,” Girardi said. “We need to get him going and we need to get him right and we’ll get him right.” ... Jorge Posada was out of the lineup for the second straight game because of a sore left thumb he sustained Wednesday trying to catch a foul tip. Posada did help warm up A. J. Burnett between innings. Girardi said he would evaluate Posada on Saturday before deciding whether he would return to the lineup.