NEW YORK — A.J. Burnett bounced back from a start cut short by a self-inflicted injury to pitch five scoreless innings, Robinson Cano hit a three-run double and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 on Friday night in a game delayed by a thunderstorm.
The game was halted for 1 hour, 25 minutes with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a deluge of rain made visibility difficult at Yankee Stadium. Spectacular lightning drew more “oohs” than each swing by Alex Rodriguez, who was 2 for 4 in his first game since hitting his 599th home run Thursday night.
The delay cut short the outings of Burnett (North Little Rock, Central Arkansas Christian) and Royals starter Brian Bannister (7-9).
Burnett (8-8) was starting six days after he cut both hands on a plastic lineup-card holder when he slammed open double doors in the clubhouse out of frustration in the second inning against Tampa Bay. He gave up four runs in twoplus innings last Saturday and had square Band-Aids on both hands, but he had little trouble with the Royals, baseball’s best hitting team by average - .282 coming in.
On Friday, Burnett allowed four hits and was helped by two double plays. Burnett struck out three and walked one.
“It was definitely a good start in the right direction,” Burnett said. “Unfortunately the rain came as I found the release point in my curveball at that point. But it was a great night all around.”
RANGERS 1, ANGELS 0
C.J. Wilson (9-5)scattered four hits over eight innings, Michael Young homered, and host Texas beat Los Angeles as the AL West leader stretched its season-high lead over the second-place Angels to seven games.
ORIOLES 3, TWINS 2
Jeremy Guthrie (4-10) allowed two runs over seven innings to earn his first victory since May 25, and Luke Scott homered for host Baltimore in its victory over Minnesota.
INDIANS 3, RAYS 1
Fausto Carmona (10-7) allowed one hit - an infield single - in five innings as Cleveland extended its home winning streak over Tampa Bay to 18 consecutive in a game called in the bottom of the seventh. The Rays haven’t won in Cleveland since Sept. 28, 2005.
National League PHILLIES 6, ROCKIES 0
Roy Halladay cruised through eight innings and Raul Ibanez drove in three runs with three hits as host Philadelphia recorded its second consecutive shutout. Halladay (11-8) allowed five hits and a walk while striking out nine.
PADRES 5, PIRATES 3
Aaron Cunningham’s triple started a four-run second inning for San Diego in its victory over host Pittsburgh. Kevin Correia (7-6) gave up three runs, two earned, over six innings to win his second consecutive after going winless in seven starts.
BREWERS 7, NATIONALS 5
Jim Edmonds replaced injured All-Star Corey Hart and hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the seventh inning to lift host Milwaukee over Washington. Hart hurt his right wrist in the third inning when he crashed into the wall down the right-field line chasing Cristian Guzman’s fly ball. Hart threw three warm-up tosses before finishing the inning. Edmonds pinch-hit for Hart in the bottom of the third. X-rays were negative, but the Brewers said Hart will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging today.
CUBS 5, CARDINALS 0
Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run home run and Randy Wells pitched seven innings to lead host Chicago past St. Louis. Tyler Colvin and Geovany Soto added home runs for the Cubs. Wells (5-7) allowed five hits and struck out seven.
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 6
Donnie Murphy delivered his second game-ending hit of the week for host Florida, driving a 2-1 pitch from Billy Wagner into center field with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to beat Atlanta.
REDS 6, ASTROS 4
Jay Bruce hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning for Cincinnati in its victory over host Houston.
Friday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago Cubs 5, St. Louis 0 Philadelphia 6, Colorado 0 San Diego 5, Pittsburgh 3 Florida 7, Atlanta 6 Cincinnati 6, Houston 4 Milwaukee 7, Washington 5 San Francisco at Arizona, (n) NY Mets at LA Dodgers, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE NY Yankees 7, Kansas City 1 Baltimore 3, Minnesota 2 Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 1, 7 innings Toronto at Detroit, ppd., rain Texas 1, LA Angels 0 Chicago White Sox at Oakland, (n) Boston at Seattle, (n)
Sports, Pages 22 on 07/24/2010