A.J. is doing his best to be removed from the postseason rotation. He's having the worst season of his career and is in danger of being bumped come October. After 2.1 innings in which he allowed seven earned runs, his ERA rose to a dreadful 5.33, the worst on the team (among qualified pitchers).
Strangely, the bullpen completely shut down the Jays hitters, holding Toronto scoreless for the final 5.2 frames - unfortunately, it didn't matter at that point; Burnett had done too much damage.
The Yankees scored all five runs on two hits: a Curtis Granderson two-run shot in the fifth (his 24th) and a Tex-message three-run bomb in the seventh (his 33rd).
Toronto pitchers struck out 14 Yankees - Granderson thrice, A-Rod, Cano and Thames twice each, and once for every other starter.
The good news is Tampa lost too, so the Yanks remain a half game back.
Play of the Game: Vernon Wells' three-run homer in the third that put the Jays up 5-0 (-14%).
Comment of the Game: FreeBradshaw, for a mental image that is painful yet inspiring.