The Yankees established a 4-1 lead over the Tigers in the top of the fifth. A.J. Burnett turned in a scoreless bottom half. He also retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the sixth before allowing a single to Don Kelly, and that would be the final batter he faced, as Joe Girardi came out and replaced him with Rafael Soriano.
Tigers vs. Yankees: A.J. Burnett Survives Into Sixth
Burnett’s line (pending that baserunner):
5⅔ innings
4 hits
1 run
4 walks
3 strikeouts
On the one hand, Burnett wasn't fantastic. He wasn't great. He came one circus catch by Curtis Granderson in the bottom of the first away from allowing at least a bases-clearing triple. So, there was a lot of luck, here. But there were also some big pitches in some big spots, and at the end of the day, Burnett came out having allowed one run. This is greater than any outcome for which the Yankees would've reasonably been hoping.
And now I should tell you that Kelly was stranded on the basepaths, as Soriano came in and induced a pop fly off the bat of Jhonny Peralta. Here's how that went:
Just another outstanding catch by Granderson, who remained on the ground for a short while before popping right back up. He’s still in the game, albeit a little sore, probably.
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