Burnett implodes as Phillies beat Yankees

It took 2½ months, but Bad A.J. made his 2010 debut last night for the Yankees.

Pounded by the Phillies in a 6-3 loss at the Stadium, A.J. Burnett was booed heartily as he came off the mound with one out in the fourth, pulled after not covering first on Chase Utley's grounder that Mark Teixeira smothered behind the bag.

The first baseman looked surprised when he had an empty base to throw to. Joe Girardi decided that would be all for Burnett, whose night soured long before that ignominious moment, which the pitcher called a "lapse."

"It's uncalled for, there's no excuses for it," Burnett said.

Burnett lost his third straight outing and is 2-5 since starting 4-0. His 31/3-inning outing was his shortest of the season.

Girardi said he didn't remove Burnett because of the play at first, and the pitcher said his manager's message was positive.

"He grabbed the ball, he grabbed me and said, 'Hey, we're going to fix this,' " Burnett said. "Just keep your head up."

Girardi said there was no need to flay Burnett, either on the mound or in private.

"One thing about this game when you've played it a long time is most players know when they've screwed up," Girardi said. "So you don't necessarily need to go out there and hammer them."

The Phillies did that early to Burnett, scoring four times in the second inning and twice in the third. That gave Jamie Moyer, coming off a miserable one-inning outing Friday in Boston when he allowed nine runs, plenty of cushion. Moyer, 47, is the oldest pitcher ever to defeat the Yankees. He is 33 days older than Phil Niekro was when he beat them in relief on Aug. 1, 1986, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"Even I grew up watching him," quipped the soon-to-be 36-year-old Derek Jeter, who spoke admiringly of Moyer.

Moyer (7-6) gave up solo homers to Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada but allowed only one other hit in eight innings. He struck out five and walked one while throwing 107 pitches.

"I don't know about other people,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I know I'm amazed at what he can do."

Moyer seemed less amazed.

"It's really easy for you guys to say, 'Well, you're old and you're washed up," he said. "Regardless of what people think or say, I still think I can go out and compete. That's my ultimate job.''

The Yankees did get the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth against Brad Lidge. Posada came up after a walk to Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez's RBI double and Cano's single. Posada struck out to end it.

But the primary stories of the night took place before that with Burnett's implosion and the Yankees' inability to solve Moyer and his array of pitches barely surpassing 80 mph.

"It's not like it's an uncomfortable at-bat," Jeter said. "You know what he's going to do. I guess it probably gets a little frustrating when you know what a guy's going to do and he still gets you out. You know he's going to nibble, you know he's going to mix up speeds.

"It's not like you're surprised by anything he does but, like I said, he's a great pitcher. That's the best way to put it. He knows what he's doing."