Burnett provides good start as Yanks win

BOSTON -- Before the game, Joe Girardi said, "I've just got that feeling."

Given whom he was sending to the mound to face Jon Lester Thursday night, it would have been natural to assume he meant a queasy stomach.

But Girardi is a positive person, and he has been A.J. Burnett's staunchest supporter during his recent struggles. He meant he saw a good outing on the horizon, and he turned out to be correct.

Burnett, his final line protected by a spectacular catch by Curtis Granderson, allowed two runs and five hits (including a two-run homer by Dustin Pedroia) in 51/3 innings. Five relievers allowed one hit in the final 32/3 innings in a 4-2 win that gave the Yankees their first series victory over Boston this season.

"That's a big performance for what he's been through in August,'' Girardi said of Burnett. "I just had a feeling he'd get it done, and he did.''

Mariano Rivera, who blew a save here Aug. 7 that kept the Yankees from winning that series, pitched the ninth for his 36th save of the season and 595th of his career. With two outs and a man on first, he walked Jacoby Ellsbury and allowed a single by Marco Scutaro to load the bases but struck out Adrian Gonzalez looking to end a game that lasted 4 hours, 21 minutes. (The series' three games averaged 3:52.)

The Yankees (82-53) pulled within a half-game of the Red Sox (83-53) in the AL East and improved to 4-11 against them.

Mark Teixeira suffered a bruised right knee when he was hit by a pitch from Alfredo Aceves in the sixth inning. Nick Swisher replaced him at first base, and Teixeira is day-to-day.

Burnett left with his team, which stranded 12 through six innings, trailing 2-1. But the Yankees -- who managed only one run off Lester on Robinson Cano's first-inning double but forced him to throw 114 pitches in five innings -- scored three in the seventh for a 4-2 lead.

With one out in the seventh, Andruw Jones drew a 14-pitch walk from Aceves, who then brushed Jesus Montero (serving as the DH in his major-league debut) with a pitch to put runners at first and second. Daniel Bard replaced Aceves and got ahead of Russell Martin 0-and-2, but Martin, who had missed the two previous games with a sore thumb, lined the 3-and-2 pitch to right-center for a two-run double that put the Yankees ahead. Eric Chavez's single made it 4-2.

Rafael Soriano issued a two-out walk to Ellsbury in the seventh but struck out Scutaro. David Robertson had a 25-pitch eighth, which included a leadoff walk to Gonzalez, but still made it 29 of 30 road appearances this season in which he's held the opponent scoreless.

Burnett came in 9-11 with a 5.31 ERA this season and was leaving behind an August in which he went 1-2 with an 11.91 ERA in five starts. This was the first game in which he implemented a mechanical change, at the behest of pitching coach Larry Rothschild, involving the placement of his hands, both out of the windup and stretch. "It was time,'' Rothschild said.

Burnett said the adjustment helped him keep the ball down. "I felt pretty comfortable for the most part,'' he said. "I think it's a big step. I've been pitching the same way for so long . . . The curveball was sharper like it's supposed to be. It feels like my arm is quicker and loose. My misses were down instead of over the plate for the most part. Even though I was behind a lot, they weren't able to score a lot because of that.''

"He was great tonight,'' said Teixeira, who hopes to play tonight. "We couldn't have asked for a better performance than he gave us tonight.''

With runners on first and second and one out in the sixth, Boone Logan replaced Burnett and struck out Carl Crawford. Cory Wade (3-0) then came in to face Jed Lowrie, who sent a sinking liner to right-center that looked certain to fall for an RBI single, but Granderson streaked in and made a full-out diving catch to end the inning."A huge play,'' Girardi said. "That's why I talk about him for MVP.''