“I’m allowed to change my mind,’’ Girardi said. “We want to see it again. We liked what we saw from our guys.’’
Girardi acknowledged that A.J. Burnett’s latest outing played a role in the decision. After struggling badly for most of the summer, Burnett tweaked his mechanics before Thursday night’s start and turned in a solid performance at Fenway Park.
“I’m real curious. I loved what I saw from A.J. in Boston,’’ Girardi said. “There’s no rush to make this decision.’’
Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Nick Swisher all homered for the Yankees, who increased their AL East lead to 1 ½ games when the Red Sox lost to Texas. Sabathia struck out 10 in 7 ⅓ innings to win his seventh consecutive start against Toronto.
One big reason for that success: Sabathia has dominated his matchups with slugger Jose Bautista. The major league home run leader is 0 for 18 with eight strikeouts against the big lefty after going hitless in three tries yesterday.
“He’s one of the best hitters in the league,’’ Sabathia said. “Hopefully I can keep it up.’’
Bautista did hit a colossal homer off Rafael Soriano in the eighth, cutting it to 5-3 and joining Carlos Delgado (1999, 2000) as the only Blue Jays to sock 40 home runs in successive seasons.
Soriano avoided further damage and New York tacked on four runs in the eighth against Toronto’s bullpen. Swisher hit a two-run shot and Jeter, rested Saturday, had a two-run single to go with his three-run homer in the third.
It was the fourth time in his career that he has knocked in five runs. The previous time was June 18, 2005, against the Cubs.
“This is the fun part of the season,’’ Jeter said. “It’s a lot more fun when you’re contributing.’’
After a disappointing start, the 37-year-old Jeter is batting .346 with 17 extra-base hits and 34 RBIs in 50 games since coming off the disabled list July 4.
“He’s been awesome,’’ Rodriguez said. “He’s doing it all. Pretty amazing right now.’’
