AJ Did His Duty

I said coming into this Game 4 between the Tigers and the Yankees that AJ Burnett was going to have to pitch a game that would define his tenure as a Yankee thus far.  He struggled in the first inning, but was bailed out on a beautiful leaping grab by centerfielder Curtis Granderson.  After that, Burnett looked like the pitcher that was from 2009.
He simply gave the Yankees a chance to win the game tonight and their bats have helped him out.  Burnett through 5.2 innings, had only three strikeouts to four walks, but only surrendered four hits, and most importantly, held the Tigers to one run, a solo home run by Victor Martinez to lead off the fourth inning.

The longer Burnett pitched tonight, the greater the odds of the Yankees extending this series and bringing it back to New York for the all-important Game Five.  He's put them in great shape thus far, with the Yankees up 4-1 in the 7th inning.
More importantly, Burnett may have gained the confidence of manager Joe Girardi to give him a start in the ALCS if they are able to advance.
Well done, AJ.  Well done.

*Image courtesy of Google Images*