PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Burnett gets a chance to live every kids dream tonight. You know, winning the deciding game of the World Series and heading home for the winter as a conquering hero.
“I’d lie if I said I wasn’t going to think about [this] all night,” Burnett said moments after the Yankees beat the Phillies 7-4 in Game 4 of the World Series. “You dream about it. This is what you talk about growing up. I’m not going to take it as just one ordinary game or another start.”
The Yankees have gotten to November riding the backs of three starting pitchers, so changing the formula now isn’t an option. Burnett will go on three days rest, after the Yankees had discussed last week the possibility of using Chad Gaudin for this start.
Burnett, who will face fellow Arkansas native Cliff Lee of the Phillies tonight, is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts on short rest, and manager Joe Girardi said those numbers played into the decision.
“Obviously I would do anything to help this team win, and if that means taking the ball on short rest, that is what I’ll do,” Burnett said. “I feel good right now or I wouldn’t take the ball.”
Though Girardi didn’t name Andy Pettitte for Game 6, it’s a foregone conclusion the veteran left-hander is on deck if needed, with last nights starter CC Sabathia in place for a possible Game 7. The last team to win a World Series using only three starters was the 1991 Twins, with Jack Morris, Kevin Tapani and Scott Erickson.
Lee, who never has pitched on three days rest in his eight-year career, will be properly rested, but admittedly hard-pressed to do to the Yankees what he did to them in Game 1 just five days ago.
This is the World Series, where adjustments are made at lightning speed, and Lee has virtually no experience when it comes to making consecutive starts against the same team.
Will familiarity breed success against the Yankees as a result?
“I don’t really over-complicate it or think, Man, I just faced them the other day, [so] it’s going to be different now,” Lee said yesterday. “It’s still the same game, and I’ve still got to go out there and locate pitches.”
“If I dont locate pitches, bad things will probably happen. And if I do, good things will probably happen. It’s really that simple.”
In Game 1, Lee put on a pitching performance for the ages, throwing a complete game six hitter while striking out 10 and walking none in the Phillies’ 6-1 win. The Phillies midseason acquisition from Cleveland, where he won the Cy Young in 2008, has been sensational in his postseason debut, going 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA in four starts.
Burnett allowed one run on a bloop double and a grounder under the glove of Alex Rodriguez over seven innings in Game 2 to beat Pedro Martinez. The righty is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA this postseason and knows hell have little room for error facing Lee.
Girardi isnt concerned about Burnett’s mental state.
“When you’re talking about being at this level and being at this time of year, the competitiveness is tremendous, they want the ball,” Girardi said. “They want to be out there. They want to help their club and they want to do whatever it takes.”
“So as far as the mentality of [pitching on short rest], that’s usually not a concern. It’s the physical part that is a concern. If you are able to curb their workload and space it out, sometimes you can ask them to go on short rest.”