NEW YORK — A.J. Burnett pitched well in an encouraging
playoff tuneup and the New York Yankees rallied for two runs in the ninth
inning, beating the Kansas City Royals 4-3 Tuesday night for their seventh
straight victory.
Little-used Juan Miranda got the game-winning hit off
ex-Yankee Kyle Farnsworth (1-5), an infield single that caromed off the
reliever's leg and into foul territory between home plate and first base.
Miranda raised his arms in jubilation as he crossed the
bag and the AL East champions rushed out of the dugout to celebrate as if they'd
just won a playoff series. The custom all season, Burnett pasted Miranda in the face with a whipped cream
pie as the rookie was interviewed on television on the field.
Following their major league-best 15th walk-off win, the
Yankees (102-56) are 46 games over .500 for the first time since finishing
114-48 in 1998.
New York's 50th comeback victory cost Anthony Lerew his
first major league win. Called up from Double-A last week, Lerew quieted a
Yankees lineup filled mostly with regulars. He yielded only solo homers to Mark
Teixeira and Nick Swisher in six-plus innings.
Burnett allowed two runs — one earned — and three hits in
6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked three.
More important, the hard-throwing right-hander has strung
together three consecutive solid starts following six weeks of inconsistency. He
was originally scheduled to pitch Monday but his turn was pushed back a day so
he could be with his father, who had triple bypass surgery.
Burnett is slated to start the regular-season finale
Sunday at Tampa Bay, following CC Sabathia on Friday and Andy Pettitte on
Saturday. That would put Burnett in line to pitch Game 3 of New York's
first-round playoff series — but that order could change.
With their opponent and schedule still to be determined,
the Yankees have not committed to a postseason rotation beyond giving the ball
to Sabathia in the opener.
Another good sign for New York was the return of
reliever David Robertson, who hadn't pitched since Sept. 5 because of stiffness
in his right elbow. Robertson entered to start the eighth and struck out No. 3
batter Billy Butler before getting a groundout and issuing a walk.
The right-hander was lifted for Brian Bruney (5-0), who
tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Two days after clinching the division title and
home-field advantage throughout the postseason, the Yankees rested catcher Jorge
Posada, second baseman Robinson Cano and center fielder Melky Cabrera.
Cano entered on defense in the ninth and tied it 3-all
with a sacrifice fly against Farnsworth, who also failed to field Francisco
Cervelli's one-out infield single.
A single to right by pinch-hitter Eric Hinske set the
stage for Cano. Hinske then stole second and went to third on a throwing error
by catcher John Buck. Johnny Damon was intentionally walked, bringing up
Miranda.
Teixeira, an MVP contender, hit his 39th homer in the
sixth, a drive that bounced off the top of the right-center fence and into the
seats. He tied injured Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena for the AL lead.
Swisher's shot to center leading off the seventh chased
Lerew, who lost to Boston last Thursday in his first major league start since
May 19, 2007, with Atlanta. The 26-year-old right-hander has been working his
way back from elbow ligament replacement surgery.
Burnett issued a leadoff walk in the seventh and was
pulled with one out after throwing 108 pitches. He received a warm ovation and
tipped his cap to the crowd of 44,794.
Kansas City then took advantage of shoddy fielding by
reliever Phil Coke to build a 3-1 lead.
Notes
Damon played his 140th game, reaching the plateau
for the 14th straight season. The only other major leaguers to play 140 games in
at least 14 consecutive seasons are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Brooks Robinson and
Pete Rose. … Royals ace Zack Greinke said he thinks Detroit would be a tougher
playoff matchup for the Yankees than Minnesota because the Tigers are stronger
at the top of their rotation. … Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said he hopes
OF David DeJesus (flu symptoms) will rejoin the team this weekend in Minnesota.
… Kansas City recalled INF Tug Hulett from Triple-A Omaha. He had been playing
for the United States team that won the baseball World Cup on Sunday in Italy.
Hulett homered in the final against Cuba.