Yankees defeat Orioles behind Burnett (4-0)

After his previous start, a dominant performance Thursday in Baltimore when he allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings, A.J. Burnett said he felt "free and easy" on the mound.

"I don't feel like I threw a pitch tonight," the righthander said.

Little seemed to come easily last night but the results were strikingly similar for Burnett. He continued the best start of his career in the Yankees' 4-1 victory over the Orioles in front of 43,260 at the Stadium.

The win allowed the Yankees (18-8) to match the 2003, 1939 and 1928 teams as the franchise's only clubs to win eight of their first nine series.

Burnett, 4-0 for the first time, allowed one unearned run and five hits in 7 1/3 innings. He left to a standing ovation after walking Nick Markakis with one out in the eighth, giving way to Damaso Marte.

Marte retired Matt Wieters, and Alfredo Aceves came on to get Miguel Tejada, who flew out to the track in center.

Mariano Rivera threw without pain in his creaky left side in the bullpen before the game but Joe Girardi stayed away from the closer once again. Joba Chamberlain allowed a two-out single in the ninth but recorded the save for a second straight night.

The Yankees were fortunate Burnett was strong because they never got much going against Brian Matusz.

They had three runs and nine hits off Matusz on Thursday but got only one earned run and six hits, three by Francisco Cervelli, off the lefty last night. The difference turned out to be Matusz's throwing error in the fifth that led to two runs that broke a 1-1 tie.

Derek Jeter led off the first with his 443rd double to move past Don Mattingly and into third on the Yankees' all-time list. Only Lou Gehrig (534) and Bernie Williams (449) have more. Jeter was stranded at second as Matusz retired three straight.

The Orioles (7-20) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third, though the 26-pitch inning could have been far worse.

Garrett Atkins led off with a single off Alex Rodriguez's glove before Burnett walked Rhyne Hughes. Cesar Izturis followed with a bunt, and when Burnett threw wildly up the first-base line, Atkins scored, Hughes went to third and Izturis to second.

Burnett quickly recovered, striking out Adam Jones, Markakis and Matt Wieters, getting each to miss biting curves.

The Yankees tied it in the third as Cervelli led off with a sinking line drive to center that Jones made an all-or-nothing dive for. He came up with nothing and the ball rolled to the wall as Cervelli ended up with his first big-league triple. Ramiro Peña, playing shortstop with Jeter as the designated hitter, grounded to second to get Cervelli home to tie it at 1.

The Yankees scored two unearned runs in the fifth, benefiting from a throwing error that looked similar to Burnett's in the third.

Brett Gardner led off with a walk and went to second on the second of Cervelli's hits, a blooper to right. Peña bunted to the third-base side of the mound, where Matusz fielded the ball and threw it away, which allowed Gardner to score. Later in the inning, Rodriguez worked a two-out walk with the bases loaded to bring in Cervelli to make it 3-1.

Peña's sacrifice fly in the ninth scored Gardner to make it 4-1.