Firsts

AJ Burnett got his first August win as a Yankee (14 tries), his first win since June 29, his first win against an AL team since June 1 and, most importantly, the Yankees are tied for first place atop the AL East.

AJ (9-9) didn’t have a great game, but he did enough to win. He threw 5 2/3 innings and was touched for three runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts to one walk as the Yanks won 7-4. He was pitching well and getting out of jams but ran into trouble in the fifth inning, which seems to be a recurring theme for him in 2011. He only threw 88 pitches, with 63 going for strikes.

You had to figure he’d pull out a W as he’s been great against the Royals recently — he had a 1.03 ERA and a .140 BAA in his last four starts against them, including a one-hit, one-run, seven-inning performance against them at The Stadium on May 11 (even though the Yanks lost that game). Despite giving up his first bases-loaded walk of the season (12th of his career) he still got the win. He had been 0-8 with a 7.18 ERA in August as a Yankee.

AJ was a lot more lucky on August 15, 2011 in Kansas City than he was on August 15, 2010 in Kansas City.

Boone Logan tossed 2/3 of a perfect inning and So also threw 2/3 of an inning. However, So was touched for his second hit and his first walk and run since coming off the DL (6 2/3 innings). He’s been nice in the small sample size despite those blips.

D-Rob gave up one hit with a strikeout in the eighth, and has not walked a batter since July 24 (6 2/3 innings). He’s given up just one other hit and no runs with eight strikeouts over that span.

Mo got his 31st save of the year (590th career) with a perfect ninth, and is now only 12 saves away from becoming the all-time leader.

The top of the order held it down at the plate. Gardy and Jeet combined to go 5-for-8 with two runs scored and five RBI. Gardy and Jeet are hitting .330 and .315, respectively, since the All-Star break. Also, Jeter is hitting .326 since coming off the DL.

Captain tied Ben Chapman for 16th place in franchise annals with his 64th career triple, and notched his seventh three-plus-hit game of the season. As a matter of fact, Jeet has more four-plus-hit games (four) than three-hit games (three) this year. His .282 average is the highest it’s been since May 10 when it sat at .283, which is the highest it’s been since it was .333 after the second game of the season.

Cano and Swish Dog each had a double, two hits and scored while Andruw Jones and Tex drove in a run apiece. Russell Martin isn’t hitting much lately (.225), but he threw out two runners tonight.

The Yanks are now 6-0 following a rain out this season.

Other news:

• Cashman said it is unlikely that ManBan gets called up to the big leagues when rosters expand on September 1. “You may or may not see him. It’s more likely you won’t see him. There are no plans for him to join us,” Cash said. It seems like he’s flip flopping a little with that quote, so maybe we will see ManBan after all.
• A-Rod has today off and will play third base at Scranton tomorrow and Wednesday. The earliest he will return to the Yanks is Thursday, but it may be later depending on how the next two games go.
• It’s been 20 years to the day since Mattingly was benched for having long hair. 20 friggin’ years, I can’t believe it.
• Posada was dropping hints that he wants to play (and catch) next season and not necessarily for the Yanks. “I would consider going somewhere else if they don’t want me here,” he said. It’s pretty obvious they’re not bringing him back…so yeah.
• Wally Matthews tries to stir some shit up about the cut on Fabulous Freddy’s finger. Fab Fred seems to be shady about the whole thing, so maybe this analogy works — Fred’s Finger : 2011 :: AJ’s black eye : 2010.