Burnett burns Rays to take series

A.J. Burnett allowed two runs to the Rays in the first, but settled down and tossed six shutout innings in the Yankees’ 7-3 win. The win gave the Yankees (4-2) their second straight two-out-of-three against division foes.

Quick ‘Cap:
The Rays (3-3) held a 2-1 lead into the sixth until Robinson Cano’s single chased James Shields and then Jorge Posada took Randy Choate deep. Curtis Granderson followed Posada with a single, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

Alex Rodriguez lined a two-run double in the seventh and Nick Swisher connected for his first homer of the year in the eighth. Swisher told reporters after the game he switched to a heavier bat for the first time in his career just for that at-bat. I guess it paid off.

Joba Chamberlain relieved Burnett in the eighth and allowed one run on Carl Crawford’s triple. Mariano Rivera closed it out to get some work in before tomorrow’s off day. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
Granderson was a standout guy for me today. In the fifth inning, he made a diving catch to rob Dioner Navarro of a hit and made a nice throw to Mark Teixeira to double up Pat Burrell at first. Then he made another fine catch on Sean Rodriguez’s fly to the warning track to end the inning. He also collected his third steal, first double and fourth RBI of the season. Granderson’s doing a lot of little things right so far, and it’s hard not to like him.

Line of the Day:
Burnett: W, 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K. You never know what to expect from him. But today he found his groove after the first inning.

Up Next:
The Yankees will get their rings on Tuesday’s home opener against the Los Angeles Angels. The red (literally) hot (not literally) Hideki Matsui will make his first return to the Bronx as well.