Burnett gets Yanks back in groove

POSTED: July 4, 2009

Associated Press

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NEW YORK - Pitcher A.J. Burnett quickly got the New York Yankees back to their winning ways yesterday, helping them to their eighth win in nine games.

Burnett scattered six hits over seven innings, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez homered, and the Yankees opened the long holiday weekend with a 4-2 victory over Toronto.

FRANK FRANKLIN II / Associated Press

The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez connectsfor a home run, moving him within two homers of 10th place on the all-time list.

Phillies Gold Glove winners

Options at third base

Roy Halladay

Wearing red caps as part of the majors' Fourth of July weekend celebration, the Yankees rebounded from Thursday night's 8-4 loss to Seattle. It was the start of an unusual stretch of four straight day games between New York and Toronto, a series that includes today's observance of the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech.

Burnett (7-4), who lost to his former team at Toronto on May 12, struck out seven and walked two.

Since a shellacking last month at Fenway Park, in which he was pulled in the third inning, Burnett has allowed three earned runs in 271/3 innings (0.99 ERA).

"When you're clicking, everything just flows," he said. "When you're clicking on pitches, you don't even think about anything."

Mariano Rivera struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 22 chances, No. 503 of his career.

Brian Tallet (5-6), who walked a career-high six in his previous start, against the Phillies, again struggled with his control. He gave up three runs (two earned), six hits, and four walks in six innings, forcing in the go-ahead run with a four-pitch walk to Mark Teixeira in the fifth.

Rodriguez led off the eighth against Jeremy Accardo with an opposite-field home run to right. He has 14 homers this season, including five in his last eight games, and 567 in his career, two shy of Rafael Palmeiro for 10th place all time.

Toronto 000 101 000 – 2 7 0
New York 010 020 01x – 4 8 0
Toronto AB R H BI Avg. New York AB R H BI Avg.

Scutaro ss 4 0 2 0 .282 Jeter ss 3 0 2 0 .310

A.Hill 2b 3 0 0 0 .299 Damon lf 4 1 1 0 .287

Lind dh 4 0 0 0 .310 Teixeira 1b 3 0 1 1 .275

Rolen 3b 4 0 1 0 .332 A.Rodriguez 3b 3 1 1 1 .237

Overbay 1b 4 1 1 0 .264 Cano 2b 4 1 1 1 .306

V.Wells cf 4 1 2 1 .252 Swisher rf 4 0 0 0 .236

Rios rf 4 0 1 1 .260 Me.Cabrera rf 0 0 0 0 .282

Dellucci lf 2 0 0 0 .262 H.Matsui dh 3 0 1 0 .255

R.Chavez c 4 0 0 0 .257 Cervelli c 4 0 1 0 .257

Totals 33 2 7 2 Gardner cf 2 1 0 0 .286

Totals 30 4 8 3

LOB: Toronto 7, New York 7. 2B: Scutaro (24), Overbay (17), V.Wells (21). HR: V.Wells (8), off A.Burnett; Cano (13), off Tallet; A.Rodriguez (14), off Accardo. RBIs: V.Wells (37), Rios (38), Teixeira (61), A.Rodriguez (42), Cano (43). CS: Rios (3), Cervelli (2). RLSP: Toronto 3 (R.Chavez, Rolen, V.Wells); New York 3 (Gardner, Cano, Swisher). RA: Overbay, Cervelli. DP: Toronto 1 (Scutaro, A.Hill, Overbay).

Toronto walks (2): A.Hill, Dellucci.

New York walks (5): Jeter, Teixeira, A.Rodriguez, H.Matsui, Gardner.

Toronto strikeouts (9): Scutaro, A.Hill, Lind, Overbay 2, V.Wells, Rios, Dellucci, R.Chavez.

New York strikeouts (3): Damon, Teixeira, Swisher.

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Tallet (L) 6 6 3 2 4 3 95 4.38

Accardo 1 2 1 1 0 0 14 3.86

Carlson 1 0 0 0 1 0 14 5.06

New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

A.Burnett (W) 7 6 2 2 2 7 112 3.83

Coke (H) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 4 3.15

Hughes (H) 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 15 4.28

Ma.Rivera (S) 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 2.67

W: Burnett, 7-4. L: Tallet, 5-6. S: Rivera, 21. H: Hughes, 3. H: Coke, 7.

Accardo pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. HBP: by A.Burnett (Dellucci). WP: A.Burnett. PB: R.Chavez. Umpires: Home, John Hirschbeck; first, Wally Bell; second, Marty Foster; third, Chad Fairchild. T: 2:57. A: 46,308 (52,325).

Indians 15, Athletics 3

CLEVELAND - Shin-Soo Choo homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs as Cleveland pounded Oakland to snap a five-game losing streak.

Choo had an RBI single, a two-run double, and a three-run homer before ending with a solo shot, his 12th homer.

Oakland 110 100 000 – 3 11 2
Cleveland 013 451 10x – 15 15 2
Oakland AB R H BI Avg. Cleveland AB R H BI Avg.

Kennedy 2b-1b 4 1 2 0 .290 A.Cabrera ss 5 2 2 3 .309

a-R.Davis ph 1 0 1 0 .236 Sizemore cf 2 3 2 1 .226

O.Cabrera ss 5 0 0 0 .246 Gimenez lf 1 0 0 0 .267

Holliday lf 3 0 0 1 .272 V.Martinez c 5 0 0 0 .308

T.Buck lf 1 0 0 0 .236 Choo rf 5 4 4 7 .301

Giambi dh 4 1 1 0 .200 Hafner dh 3 1 1 1 .283

K.Suzuki c 4 1 2 0 .282 Jh.Peralta 3b 5 0 1 1 .257

Powell c 0 0 0 0 .203 Garko 1b 5 0 1 0 .258

Garciaparra 1b 3 0 2 1 .261 Valbuena 2b 5 1 1 0 .196

M.Ellis 2b 1 0 0 0 .205 BFrancisco lf-cf 4 4 3 0 .237

Cust rf 4 0 1 1 .225 Totals 40 15 15 13

R.Sweeney cf 4 0 2 0 .274

Crosby 3b 4 0 0 0 .197

Totals 38 3 11 3

a-singled for Kennedy in the 9th. E: Crosby 2 (7), Jh.Peralta (8), A.Cabrera (4). LOB: Oakland 9, Cleveland 8. 2B: Kennedy (11), Giambi (11), K.Suzuki (22), Garciaparra (3), R.Sweeney (10), A.Cabrera 2 (16), Sizemore (13), Choo (14), B.Francisco (16). HR: Hafner (9), off Cahill; Choo (11), off Breslow; Choo (12), off Wuertz. RBIs: Holliday (41), Garciaparra (10), Cust (42), A.Cabrera 3 (33), Sizemore (41), Choo 7 (53), Hafner (19), Jh.Peralta (34). SB: Sizemore (8), Choo (13). RLSP: Oakland 7 (Crosby 3, R.Sweeney, Giambi 2, T.Buck); Cleveland 4 (Garko 2, V.Martinez 2). RA: O.Cabrera 3, Holliday, A.Cabrera. GIDP: O.Cabrera, R.Sweeney, V.Martinez. DP: Oakland 1 (Kennedy, O.Cabrera, Garciaparra); Cleveland 2 (A.Cabrera, Garko), (A.Cabrera, Valbuena, Garko).

Oakland walks (1): Holliday.

Cleveland walks (7): A.Cabrera, Sizemore 3, Hafner 2, B.Francisco.

Oakland strikeouts (6): Holliday, Giambi, K.Suzuki, Cust, R.Sweeney, Crosby.

Cleveland strikeouts (6): A.Cabrera, Gimenez, V.Martinez, Jh.Peralta 2, Valbuena.

Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Cahill (L) 32/3 6 8 5 4 2 95 4.55

S.Casilla 1/3 4 3 3 1 0 22 6.52

Breslow 1 1 2 2 1 0 22 4.65

Springer 1 2 1 1 1 1 19 5.16

Wuertz 1 1 1 1 0 1 13 2.89

E.Gonzalez 1 1 0 0 0 2 17 5.53

Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

D.Huff (W) 6 8 3 3 1 4 101 6.06

C.Perez 1 1 0 0 0 1 11 5.33

R.Perez 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 8.88

Gosling 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 5.87

W: Huff, 4-3. L: Cahill, 5-7.

S.Casilla pitched to 3 batters in the 5th. IR-S: S.Casilla 1-1, Breslow 1-1. Umpires: Home, Mike DiMuro; first, Ron Kulpa; second, Dale Scott; fhird, Jerry Meals.

T: 3:07. A: 26,557 (45,199).

Mariners 7, Red Sox 6

BOSTON - Rob Johnson doubled home two runs in the 11th inning, lifting Seattle.

Boston came back in the bottom of the 11th, with George Kottaras' first major-league homer, but it was not enough. The Red Sox had tied the game at 5 with two runs in the eighth.

Franklin Gutierrez opened the 11th with a single against Ramon Ramirez (5-3), and Ryan Langerhans walked before Johnson's third double of the game.

Chris Jakubauskas (5-5) pitched two hitless innings for the win.

Seattle 001 300 010 02–7 13 0
Boston 200 000 120 01–6 11 0
Seattle AB R H BI Avg. Boston AB R H BI Avg.

I.Suzuki rf 5 0 1 0 .367 J.Drew rf 6 1 2 1 .267

Branyan 1b 6 0 1 1 .294 Pedroia 2b 6 1 1 0 .288

Jo.Lopez 2b 5 1 3 1 .261 Youkilis 3b 5 0 0 0 .307

Griffey Jr. dh 5 0 0 0 .214 D.Ortiz dh 4 1 0 0 .221

F.Gutierrez cf 5 1 1 0 .283 Bay lf 4 1 1 1 .262

Langerhans lf 4 2 2 0 .500 Kotsay 1b 5 1 2 0 .300

Woodward 3b 4 0 0 0 .320 Ellsbury cf 5 0 1 0 .303

Ro.Johnson c 5 2 3 3 .203 N.Green ss 4 0 2 2 .272

Cedeno ss 5 1 2 2 .143 Kottaras c 5 1 2 1 .233

Totals 44 7 13 7 Totals 44 6 11 5

LOB: Seattle 7, Boston 8. 2B: Jo.Lopez (15), Langerhans 2 (3), Ro.Johnson 3 (12), Bay (17), Kotsay (2), N.Green 2 (16). HR: Cedeno (4), off Wakefield; Jo.Lopez (11), off Wakefield; J.Drew (11), off F.Hernandez; Kottaras (1), off M.Lowe. RBIs: Branyan (43), Jo.Lopez (48), Ro.Johnson 3 (16), Cedeno 2 (10), J.Drew (36), Bay (70), N.Green 2 (28), Kottaras (9). SB: Cedeno (2), Ellsbury (34). CS: Jo.Lopez (3). S: Woodward. RLSP: Seattle 5 (Griffey Jr. 2, Branyan 2, Woodward); Boston 7 (Kotsay, Pedroia 2, Kottaras 2, N.Green 2). RA: I.Suzuki. DP: Boston 1 (Kottaras, Kottaras, N.Green).

Seattle walks (2): I.Suzuki, Langerhans.

Boston walks (3): D.Ortiz, Bay, N.Green.

Seattle strikeouts (5): Branyan, Griffey, F.Gutierrez, Ro.Johnson, Cedeno.

Boston strikeouts (8): J.Drew, Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay 2, Kotsay, N.Green, Kottaras.

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

F.Hernandez 7 7 3 3 2 7 105 2.62

White (H) 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 13 2.95

Kelley (BS) 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 12 1.46

Jakubauskas (W) 2 0 0 0 0 1 28 5.29

M.Lowe (S) 1 2 1 1 0 0 26 3.26

Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Wakefield 8 10 5 5 0 3 112 4.30

Delcarmen 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 1.97

Papelbon 1 1 0 0 0 1 10 1.75

R.Ramirez (L) 1 2 2 2 2 1 26 2.25

W: Jakubauskas, 5-5. L: Ramirez, 5-3. S: Lowe, 1. H: White, 9. BS: Kelley, 2.

IR-S: Kelley 2-2. IBB: off R.Ramirez (I.Suzuki). WP: F.Hernandez 2. Balk: F.Hernandez. Umpires: Home, Brian Gorman; first, Gerry Davis; second, C.B. Bucknor; third, Mike Everitt.

T: 3:09. A: 38,078 (37,373).

White Sox 5, Royals 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - John Danks threw 71/3 shutout innings and got a big lift from reliever Scott Linebrink as Chicago won its seventh in a row.

A.J. Pierzynski homered, and he and Scott Podsednik each had three hits for the White Sox, who won for the 11th time in 13 games.

Zack Greinke (10-4) lost to the White Sox for the first time in three decisions this season.

Danks (7-6) gave up five hits while striking out five and not allowing a walk. Linebrink relieved him with the bases loaded and got a double-play grounder from Alberto Callaspo.

Chicago has won five straight over the Royals, who have lost seven of nine.

Chicago 012 100 100 – 5 12 1
Kansas City 000 000 000 – 0 6 1
Chicago AB R H BI Avg. Kansas City AB R H BI Avg.

Podsednik lf 4 2 3 0 .317 DeJesus lf 4 0 2 0 .248

J.Nix ss 5 0 0 0 .231 Callaspo 2b 4 0 1 0 .297

Dye rf 3 1 1 0 .291 Butler 1b 4 0 1 0 .289

Bri.Anderson cf 0 0 0 0 .234 J.Guillen rf 3 0 0 0 .248

Thome dh 4 0 1 1 .253 Olivo c 4 0 0 0 .253

Konerko 1b 4 0 1 1 .292 Jacobs dh 4 0 0 0 .223

Pierzynski c 4 1 3 1 .300 Lu.H'rndez 3b 3 0 2 0 .204

Getz 2b 4 0 1 0 .247 Maier cf 3 0 0 0 .231

Beckham 3b 4 1 1 0 .264 Pena Jr. ss 3 0 0 0 .093

Wise cf-rf 4 0 1 1 .194 Totals 32 0 6 0

Totals 36 5 12 4

E: J.Nix (1), Callaspo (10). LOB: Chicago 7, Kansas City 6. 2B: Podsednik (9), Konerko (18), Beckham (5). HR: Pierzynski (9), off Greinke. RBIs: Thome (43), Konerko (50), Pierzynski (25), Wise (4). CS: Podsednik (7), Wise (3). RLSP: Chicago 5 (Pierzynski 2, J.Nix, Konerko, Wise); Kansas City 4 (Butler, Callaspo 2, Jacobs). GI DP: Beckham, Callaspo, Olivo. DP: Chicago 2 (J.Nix, Getz, Konerko), (Getz, J.Nix, Konerko); Kansas City 1 (Pena Jr., Callaspo, Butler).

Chicago walks (3): Podsednik, Dye 2.

Chicago strikeouts (8): Podsednik, J.Nix 2, Thome, Konerko 2, Getz, Beckham.

Kansas City strikeouts (5): Butler, J.Guillen 2, Olivo, Jacobs.

Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Danks (W) 71/3 5 0 0 0 5 105 3.76

Linebrink (S) 12/3 1 0 0 0 0 21 2.05

Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Greinke (L) 6 9 4 2 1 6 82 2.00

Tejeda 1 1 1 1 2 1 20 4.50

R.Colon 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 3.21

J.Cruz 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 4.76

W: Danks, 7-6. L: Greinke, 10-4. S: Linebrink, 2.

IR-S: Linebrink 3-0. HBP: by Linebrink (J.Guillen). Umpires: Home, Ted Barrett; first, Tim McClelland; second, Andy Fletcher; third, Greg Gibson.

T: 2:25. A: 39,026 (38,177).

Rangers 3, Rays 1

ARLINGTON, Texas - Tommy Hunter earned his first career victory on his 23d birthday, Hank Blalock homered, and Texas won its third in a row.

Hunter (1-1) was making his sixth career start and third this season. The righthander allowed three hits and struck out five in 51/3 innings to help slow down baseball's top-scoring offense.

Blalock, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, had a two-run shot in the fourth.

Tampa Bay 000 010 000 – 1 3 2

Texas 000 210 00x – 3 5 1

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Avg. Texas AB R H BI Avg.

B.Upton cf 4 0 1 1 .246 Kinsler 2b 4 1 0 0 .259

Crawford lf 4 0 1 0 .319 M.Young 3b 3 0 0 0 .312

Longoria 3b 3 0 0 0 .294 Byrd cf 4 0 1 1 .286

C.Pena 1b 2 0 0 0 .236 An.Jones lf 4 1 1 0 .239

Zobrist 2b 4 0 0 0 .292 Dav.Murphy lf 0 0 0 0 .258

Burrell dh 4 1 1 0 .225 Blalock dh 3 1 1 2 .247

Gross rf 4 0 0 0 .274 N.Cruz rf 4 0 1 0 .264

Bartlett ss 3 0 0 0 .357 Saltalamcchia c 2 0 0 0 .245

Navarro c 2 0 0 0 .211 C.Davis 1b 3 0 0 0 .201

Totals 30 1 3 1 Andrus ss 3 0 1 0 .270

Totals 30 3 5 3

E: Bartlett (6), Zobrist (3), Kinsler (6). LOB: Tampa Bay 7, Texas 6. 2B: Byrd (26), N.Cruz (14). HR: Blalock (17), off Kazmir. RBIs: B.Upton (32), Byrd (40), Blalock 2 (37). SB: Navarro (2), Blalock (2). RLSP: Tampa Bay 3 (B.Upton, Crawford 2); Texas 4 (C.Davis 2, An.Jones, Andrus). RA: Gross. DP: Texas 1 (Byrd, C.Davis).

Tampa Bay walks (5): Longoria, C.Pena 2, Bartlett, Navarro.

Texas walks (3): M.Young, Blalock, Saltalamacchia.

Tampa Bay strikeouts (8): B.Upton 2, C.Pena, Zobrist, Burrell 3, Bartlett.

Texas strikeouts (10): M.Young, Byrd 2, Blalock, N.Cruz, Saltalamacchia 2, C.Davis 2, Andrus.

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Kazmir (L) 5 5 3 1 1 6 99 6.79

J.Nelson 1/3 0 0 0 2 1 17 4.41

Balfour 2 0 0 0 0 2 32 4.26

Choate 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 3 1.42

Wheeler 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 3 3.58

Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Tom.Hunter (W) 51/3 3 1 1 3 5 90 3.18