An A+ For A.J. As Yanks Romp Rays

A.J. Burnett entered Monday's start at Tampa Bay with a stellar 1.93 ERA over his last seven games, and by the time he departed around 9:30 pm, that number went down even further. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on two hits and two walks, while striking out five in seven innings of work, leading the Yankees to an 11-4 victory over the Rays. Burnett is now 6-1 with a 1.68 ERA over his last eight starts and is quickly making a case to unseat CC Sabathia as the team's Game 1 starter if they reach the playoffs. Here are the grades from New York's 10th win in 11 days.   Joe Girardi, Manager: (A) After Burnett completed the sixth inning with 103 pitches, @rebecca_glass congratulated the starter on a great effort, while @Swifty_Read asked me if I thought Brian Bruney was going to pitch the seventh.  Thirteen years of Joe Torre will make Yankee fans start to expect their starter to exit after six brilliant frames if his pitch count is over...