Burnett makes questions moot with solid outing

Shortly after A.J. Burnett's most recent disastrous start, last Friday in Chicago, the struggling righthander sought out pitching coach Dave Eiland.

"He came to me and said, 'that's it, no more of these,'" Eiland said. "I said, 'all right, let's go to work then.' He showed up the next day and we went to work. Not only on the physical part but on the mental part."

The work started to bear fruit last night in the Yankees' 4-3 victory over the A's at the Stadium.

Burnett, who came in having lost four of his previous five starts and without a victory since July 28, allowed three runs and six hits, striking out eight and walking two in six innings as the Yankees (83-50) stayed one game ahead of the Rays, who beat Toronto, 2-1.

But Burnett (10-12, 5.15), a train wreck since June 4 - going 3-10 with a 6.86 ERA in 15 starts since then - wasn't quite ready to declare the night the start of something spectacular. The key, he appropriately pointed out, is what he does in future outings. After all, Burnett was 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA going into his June 4 start in Toronto.

"It's a matter of repeating it the next time out," Burnett said. "Your lows and your highs, you have to keep them the same, so we're back to work [tomorrow]."

Manager Joe Girardi said before the game "that's not a thought in my mind" when asked if another bad Burnett outing might cause him to skip the pitcher. It was, at best, a lukewarm endorsement, especially considering Girardi's "we'll re-evaluate" the rotation "after the weekend" comment in Chicago after Burnett's outing against the White Sox, when he allowed eight earned runs in 31/3 innings.

Girardi hinted after last night's game his comments were meant to motivate Burnett. But regardless of how much consideration was given to skipping him, everyone involved breathed a sigh of relief over Burnett's performance in which he showed better command of his fastball than he's had in a while, and at times a devastating curveball and a handful of effective changeups.

He shut out the A's in the first three innings before allowing Kevin Kouzmanoff's two-run homer in the fourth and a single run in the fifth.

By the time of Kouzmanoff's homer Burnett was working with a 4-0 lead, thanks to three hits and three RBIs by Mark Teixeira, two hits and a run by Curtis Granderson and a hit and two runs by Derek Jeter.

"For the most part I attacked," Burnett said. "Even after the homer, you still have to attack and I did that until Skip took me out."

Joba Chamberlain allowed back-to-back singles with two outs in the seventh but got out of the inning on a flyout, and Boone Logan and Kerry Wood got through the eighth to get the ball to Mariano Rivera, who earned his 28th save.

Brett Anderson, the A's starter, pitched well, allowing four runs - but just one earned - and eight hits in six innings.

After bashing the A's the first two nights, the Yankees needed what they got from Burnett.

"I thought this was a step in the right direction for him," Jeter said. "He threw the ball well."