Burnett Pitches Into 7th, A-Rod Homers For Yanks
NEW YORK (AP) -- A.J. Burnett remained undefeated in April with the Yankees by pitching effectively into the seventh inning, Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-4 Wednesday night.
Robinson Cano added a two-run double. Mark Teixeira had two hits and Jorge Posada homered as they ended slumps and helped New York move into a tie atop the AL East with the Orioles. Baltimore lost its third in a row on a misty, 48-degree night.
Derek Jeter matched Barry Bonds for 32nd on the all-time hits list with 2,935 on the day the former slugger was convicted in a San Francisco courtroom of obstruction of justice.
Jeter had two singles. He has more hits (293) against the Orioles than any other team.
Matt Wieters and Brian Roberts each hit two-run homers in the seventh to make things interesting. Roberts' one-out drive into the Yankees' bullpen in right-center ended the night for Burnett (3-0).
The Yankees had to wait a while to play again after being two-hit by Boston's Josh Beckett on Sunday night -- New York was off Monday, and Tuesday night's game was rained out.
Chris Tillman (0-1) gave up four straight hits to start the first inning. Teixeira snapped an 0-for-18 slide with a single and Rodriguez lined a drive over the wall in right field for his 617th career home run and a 3-0 lead.
In the second, Jeter drove in a run with a high chopper that went for an infield hit. Rodriguez walked and Cano followed with a bases-loaded double that ended Tillman's night after 1 2-3 innings.
The Yankees could've had more but center fielder Adam Jones made a spectacular diving catch, sliding on his stomach along the wet grass to grab Posada's short fly to end the inning with the bases loaded.
Burnett was dominant for six innings, working the corners of the plate with his fastball and making the Orioles chase a biting curveball that often hit the dirt. He gave up a leadoff hit to Brian Roberts, doubles to Mark Reynolds and Wieters, and a single to Vladimir Guerrero.
In the seventh, he gave up a one-out double to Reynolds before Wieters connected for his first homer of the season. Robert Andino walked, then Roberts homered to make it 7-4, and David Robertson took over.
Burnett allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He walked two, threw three wild pitches and struck out five.
The right-hander improved to 8-0 in 13 starts with New York in April since becoming a Yankee in 2009. He also improved to 12-4 against Baltimore.
Rafael Soriano gave up a hit in the eighth and Mariano Rivera was perfect in the ninth for his fifth save.
Posada ended an 0 for 19 skid in the fifth with a drive into the stands down the right-field line.
On a milestone night, Rodriguez passed Ken Griffey Jr. and tied Al Simmons and Ted Williams for 11th place all-time with 1,839 RBIs.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
