Moseley comes up big, Tex hits 25th in 7-2 victory

Dustin Moseley got the call a day early. He was ready.

Thrust into the national television spotlight Sunday night as a result of an injury to A.J. Burnett, Moseley - who had expected to start Monday afternoon's game - shrugged off the disruption to his routine and helped lead the Yankees to a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox in front of 49,096 at the Stadium.

The win allowed the Yankees (69-41) to increase their lead to 21/2 games over Tampa Bay and seven games over Boston.

"You felt the energy even when you walked out there to the bullpen," Moseley said. "You could feel the energy that was going throughout the crowd with everything. You definitely felt it. I tried my best to keep my composure with things."

Moseley, told Saturday night to prepare as if he'd be starting Sunday night, certainly did that, producing a final line that was more than the Yankees could have asked for: 61/3 innings, two runs, six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

"He doesn't seem to be fazed by too much," said Derek Jeter (two hits, three RBIs).

Jeter's second-inning RBI single made it 2-0 and was career hit No. 2,874, which sent him past Babe Ruth into 39th place on the all-time list.

Burnett was scratched after experiencing back spasms during his flat-ground work before Saturday's game. Manager Joe Girardi said Phil Hughes will start Monday afternoon's game, with Burnett scheduled to start Tuesday night in Texas.

Moseley, 28, signed as a minor-league free agent Feb. 16, received plenty of offensive support. The Yankees had 12 hits, including three from Lance Berkman. Mark Teixeira hit his 25th homer in a five-run fifth that gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead.

Teixeira led off the bottom of the fifth with a blast to rightfield, becoming the fourth player to have at least 25 homers in each of his first eight seasons. He joined Eddie Mathews, Darryl Strawberry and Albert Pujols.

The Yankees beat up Josh Beckett (3-2, 6.21), chasing the righthander after 42/3 innings in which he allowed seven runs and 11 hits. Beckett came in 0-1 with a 10.43 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season.

"We just really bear down against him," Teixeira said. "When we have the opportunities, we take advantage of them."

Moseley, whose contract allowed him to become a free agent if he were not put on the big-league roster by July 2, left to a roar from the crowd, and a 7-1 lead, with runners on first and third and one out in the seventh.

Joba Chamberlain allowed an RBI infield single to Mike Lowell, got Jacoby Ellsbury to fly out and walked Marco Scutaro to load the bases. Boone Logan was brought in to face David Ortiz and fell behind 3-and-1 before inducing a grounder to second on a full-count pitch.

At that point the book was officially closed on Moseley and the text messages began to fill up his phone, though he didn't find that out until afterward.

"I got a lot of people back home in Arkansas watching the ballgame," said Moseley, who is from Texarkana. "They don't get to see a whole lot of games, so it was good knowing it was going to be on ESPN. I came back to my locker and had like 40 texts, and that's not normal for me."

As for Burnett, 0-1 with a 10.91 ERA in two starts against Boston this season, he was the second player Saturday to suffer a freak injury - Alex Rodriguez being the first, of course.

"A.J. was doing his flat- ground work yesterday and felt some back tightness, spasms and stiffness," Girardi said before Sunday night's game.

Burnett felt significantly better Sunday than he did Saturday and asked to give it a try. Girardi declined.

"The feeling is if he goes out and starts and feels it in the first, second, third inning, it kind of puts you in a little bit of a bind , so we're going to move him back until Tuesday," Girardi said.

Girardi said that had Burnett showed up Sunday feeling the way he did Saturday, he would have given more consideration to skipping the righthander.

"With the improvement he made from yesterday to today, the feeling is he'll be able to make his start on Tuesday," Girardi said. "If he doesn't, then we're going to have to skip him. But my sense is, from seeing him today, watching him move around, he should be OK."