Rays beat Yankees after 2-hour, 11-minute rain delay

For much of the season, it's seemed as if a cloud has hovered over A.J. Burnett.

In September, a far better month for him than the one preceding it, it's been a rain cloud.

For the second time in his last three games, rain shortened a Burnett start. After a lengthy delay, there was little help from the bullpen, or the offense, as the Yankees fell, 7-2, to the Rays in front of 46,986 Wednesday night at the Stadium.

Needless to say, many of them didn't stick around after a 2-hour, 11-minute rain delay to see the Yankees' AL East lead over the Rays trimmed to 1½ games. Those who left were spared the sight of four pitchers they likely won't see in October follow Burnett - Royce Ring, Dustin Moseley, Chad Gaudin and Jonathan Albaladejo.

Joe Girardi has made clear winning the division is desired but not the top priority. His selection of pitchers in games such as this one continues to prove the point, though he disclosed afterward he might have gone to David Robertson but the righthander was unavailable. Robertson said his back "tightened up" after Monday's game and he went for an MRI Wednesday.

Girardi said he was "a little concerned" and that Robertson, who missed three weeks last September with elbow stiffness, likely wouldn't be available Thursday night but also said the MRI contained good news.

"There's no damage or anything like that," Robertson said.

Said Girardi: "It's muscular and that will go away."

He said it wasn't similar to the back injury that has kept Alfredo Aceves out since May.

"Ace's [injury] is structural," Girardi said. "There's a big difference there. I can't tell you he'll be available tomorrow or even the next day. He's got some spasms that he's dealing with."

Robertson, who took a batted ball off his lower back in late May, said this doesn't feel as bad. He does not have a history of back problems.

"I feel like I'm going to be ready," he said. "I don't feel its anything that's going to put me down for a long time."

Ring, a lefthander, pitched reasonably well last night; the other three did not, with Moseley giving up one home run, Gaudin surrendering two and Albaladejo walking back-to-back batters to force in a run.

Wade Davis no-hit the Yankees for 21/3 innings before rain ended his night. The Yankees didn't get their first hit until one out in the fifth when Lance Berkman hit his first homer as a Yankee, off Jeremy Hellickson, who took over for Davis.

A thunderstorm moved through the Bronx at 8 p.m., a delay in the bottom of the third with the Rays leading 1-0.

Burnett, who allowed a first-inning run but no more after that, did not retake the mound when the game resumed. The Yankees never tied the score, so Burnett (10-14) was the unlucky loser.

"I thought I was starting to settle down there when the rain started to come," Burnett said. "I felt strong. I felt like I had a good hook. The little time I was out there I felt great."

Burnett said yet another shortened outing - it also happed Sept. 11 in Texas - was disappointing, "especially when you're in a series like this." But he's already thinking about his next outing.

"You can't control it," Burnett said. "We'll continue our work and look forward to the next one. It's not going to set me back, let's put it that way."

Ring, making his Yankees' debut after spending the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, set down the Rays 1-2-3 in the fourth, striking out two.

Ring retired the first two hitters of the fifth before walking John Jaso, who singled and scored in the first. Girardi brought in Moseley to face switch hitter Ben Zobrist, who singled to right. Carl Crawford singled to center to bring in Jaso to give the Rays a 2-0 lead.

Berkman's homer, on a 1-and-2 pitch, cut the Rays' lead to 2-1, but the Rays went back to work against Moseley in the sixth. Dan Johnson ripped a 2-and-1 pitch into the Yankees' bullpen in right-centerfield to make it 3-1. It was Johnson's seventh homer of the season, and his third against the Yankees.

Matt Joyce doubled and went to third on Jason Bartlett's single. Mark Teixeira, playing in at first, fielded Reid Brignac's grounder and threw Joyce out at the plate, which was well blocked by Francisco Cervelli. Teixeira then started a 3-6-3 double play by making a clean stop on Dioner Navarro's hard grounder.

The Yankees added a run against Hellickson in the sixth to make it 3-2. Derek Jeter singled with one out, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Alex Rodriguez's single to left.

Gaudin started the seventh and retired the first two hitters before giving up a pair of homers. Crawford hit his 16th, and the second came a batter later from Longoria, whose 22nd homer made it 5-2.

Gaudin allowed two baserunners with two outs in the eighth and Albaladejo walked two straight to force in a run and make it 6-2.

Albaladejo pitched the ninth and allowed the Rays' final run on a single by Brignac.