AJ Burnett seemed to be cruising in the first four innings of tonight’s game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays by only giving up one run.  The fifth inning, however, got the best of him when he gave up six hits (eight overall) and eight runs.  He gave up homeruns to Vernon Wells and Edwin Encarnacion.  AJ also gave six doubles in that inning alone.  He didn’t reach 100 pitches before Joe Girardi decided to pull him from the game.

“Singles are alright, but extra-base hits and homers can take you out of a game,” says Burnett.  “There’s a lot of things that baffle me, but you move on.  It’s a bump in the road.”

“He seemed to lose his command and it got him in trouble,” says Girardi.  “You’re surprised when he gives up a big inning like that.  He wasn’t able to make his pitches.”

The Yankees were winning 2-0 off a Nick Swisher two-run home run in the first inning.  After the AJ break down they were losing 8-2 but started to rally back.  Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run to cut the Toronto lead in half in the fifth inning.  Then in the sixth Lance Berkman hit an RBI single to make the score 8-5.  Nick Swisher hit his second home run of the game in the 9th inning to try and start a rally, but the game would end on an Alex Rodriguez ground out to keep the score 8-6 Blue Jays.

MIA:  Alex Rodriguez 
He went 0-for-5 by striking out twice and grounding out three times.

“I haven’t been helping my team as of late,” says ARod.  “I’ve had quality at-bats.  I just haven’t been able to finish them.”  Alex also talked about looking to work with Kevin Long on getting a groove back.

Unsung heroes:  The Yankee bullpen and Travis Snider
Sergio Mitre pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two hits.  David Robertson pitched the seventh and struck out two.  Boone Logan came in the eighth and struck out one.  Joba Chamberlain struck out two in the ninth inning.  All were able to hold the Jays to eight runs.

Travis Snider had a huge fifth inning that helped the Jays get furthur ahead.  He started it with a double and scored on the Encarnacion home run and then hit an RBI double later in the inning.

The big upset about this loss is the Tampa Bay Rays victory.  The Rays beat the Twins tonight and are now tied with the Yankees in the AL East.  Winning games is now more important than ever at this point in the race.