A.J. earns first August win as a Yankee

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by the score of 7-4. A.J. Burnett made the start and pitched ok. He gave up a lot of hits but was able to limit the damage. It was his first August win as a Yankees. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter led the Yankees offense. Jeter has been a different player since coming off the disabled list.
Burnett pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on ten hits. He walked one and struck out two. Burnett is now 9-9 on the season. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout, Rafael Soriano pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit and one run with a walk and Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Mariano Rivera earned his 31st save of the season pitching an inning and striking out one.

Gardner had two hits and two RBI, Jeter had three hits and three RBI and Curtis Granderson had two walks. Mark Teixeira had a hit, RBI and two walks, Robinson Cano had two hits and Nick Swisher had two hits. Jorge Posada had a hit and a walk, Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI and Russell Martin had a hit. Cano and Swisher had doubles. Jeter had a triple and the Yankees were 6-21 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees left 11 men on base. Jeter had a stolen base and Logan picked off a runner at first base.

In the second inning the Yankees jumped out in front 2-0. Gardner had an RBI single and Jeter had an RBI single. In the fifth inning the Royals came back and took the lead. Melky Cabrera had an RBI walk and Billy Butler had a two run single making it 3-2 Royals. In the sixth inning Gardner had an RBI single and Jeter had a two run triple making it 5-3 Yankees. In the seventh inning Jones had an RBI single making it 6-3 Yankees. In the bottom of the inning Cabrera had an RBI double cutting the lead to 6-4. The Yankees added the last run of the game in the eighth inning. Teixeira had an RBI single making it 7-4.

The Yankees who were rained out on Sunday began a seven game road trip. The Yankees record is 73-46 which is tied for first with the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. They have the best records in the league. The two teams will play game two of the three game set on Tuesday night. Ivan Nova will make the start for the Yankees. Burnett is still looking for his first quality start since June 29th. Burnett will take the baby steps though and take winning his first August game as a Yankee as a positive. The Yankees who are 2-10 against the Red Sox know that if they keep playing the way they are and beat the Red Sox that they will get home field advantage through the AL playoffs. The Yankees have always enjoyed a home field advantage and after starting slow, this year is no different.