Burnett Dazzles As Yanks Turn Back Rays

It didn't go down as a game for the ages, but it was a pretty impressive second start for one of the team's high-priced offseason acquisitions.

A.J. Burnett tossed six innings of no-hit ball, Nick Swisher went deep again and Derek Jeter crushed a three-run homer in the ninth inning to seal the deal as the Yanks defeated the Rays 7-2 in Tampa.  Brett Gardner recorded three hits and scored three runs and Mark Teixeira drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly in his return, but the story of the night was Burnett.  The hard-throwing righty had everything working as he once again snapped the Yankees mini-losing streak at two.

The Good:

A.J. Burnett.  It was oh so close!  Burnett was a force of nature Tuesday night and retired 17 of the first 18 Rays he faced.  The only baserunner to reach through six innings was Pat Burrell -- and he reached on a one-out walk in the second.  The Yanks spotted Burnett a 2-0 lead and it looked like it would be more than enough.  That is, until the seventh.  Carl Crawford broke up the no-hitter with a clean single to left and Burnett seemed to lose his focus.  Burnett allowed two more hits and Burrell followed with a sac fly and in a flash the Rays knotted the score at 2-2.  But Burnett regained his composure, finished the seventh and then set the Rays down in order in the eighth.  I've witnessed some special pitching performances during my time as a Yankee booster (Dwight Gooden, David Wells, David Cone) and Burnett looked like he had the "it" factor working for him against the Rays.  The Baseball Gods are indeed a strange lot.  Burnett improved to 2-0 with this gem: 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K.

Nick Swisher.  The man is just impossible to ignore.  It didn't start out well for Swisher as he struck out with the bases loaded and nobody out in the first, but that only seemed to fuel his determination.  Matt Garza (who pitched a pretty good ballgame himself) backed Swisher off the plate in the fourth inning with an inside fastball.  But Swisher never stepped out of the batter's box and refused to be intimidated.  Instead, he smacked his fourth home run of the year to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead.  A Swisher Sweet!  Swisher finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.  I just gotta give the man a cigar, courtesy of Pink Floyd.


Derek Jeter.  The Captain entered the game 1 for his last 20, but he promptly rectified that with three hits.  Jeter collected two singles and then delivered the death blow with a two-out, three-run dinger in the ninth to put the game on ice.  The whispers about Jeter's age and lack of range at shortstop will resurface every time he hits a bad patch, but it's good to see that he still has some life left in his bat.  Jeter finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and 3 runs batted in.

The Bad:

Ramiro Pena.  I hate to dump on the kid since it was his first Major League start, but he was one of two Yankees who either didn't get a hit or drive in a run.  The other was Jose Molina, but he a) called a heck of a game for Burnett b) ended Burnett's troublesome seventh by picking off Carlos Pena at first and c) is a veteran.  Pena did work out a walk in his four at-bats, but he failed to get a bunt down with runners on first and second and nobody out in the ninth inning of a 3-2 game.  Hang in there, kid.  Pena finished 0 for 3 with a walk.


The Ugly:

Into the void.  Alex Rodriguez is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and although nobody wants to rush him back before he's ready, the Yanks could use a little boost offensively at third base.  Pena got the start at third on Tuesday in place of the slumping Cody Ransom and failed to pick up a hit.  Combine his 0'fer with Ransom's .083 average and the Bombers' third basemen are 2 for 27 with (.074) with no homers, 2 RBI, three walks and nine strikeouts this season.  Yuck.

Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.29 ERA) will go against Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 9.64 ERA) in the rubber game Wednesday afternoon.  Pettitte was brilliant against the Kansas City Royals and looks to build on that impressive start against the Rays.  The lefty finished 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in four starts against Tampa last season and is 15-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 25 career appearances against the Rays.  The Baltimore Orioles roughed up Sonnanstine to the tune of five runs on eight hits in his first start of the season.  Sonnanstine finished 1-0 in two starts against the Bombers last season despite posting a fat 10.61 ERA.  The 26-year-old right-hander is 2-1 with a 6.08 ERA in four career starts against the Yanks.

Let the battle of the Andys begin!