"A.J. Burnett makes his first start tonight since blowing up for seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings against the Twins -- and then barking in the direction of manager Joe Girardi as he walked off the mound.

Both Girardi and Burnett downplayed the incident afterwards, saying the right-hander was angry because he thought his final pitch to Joe Mauer should have been called a strike.

As much as Girardi and GM Brian Cashman have defended Burnett, he still wants to get some results if he wants to stay in the rotation in September, let alone October.

"We need him to pitch well," Girardi said. "It's a big start. We're trying to determine how to . . . get down to a five-man rotation. God knows if we're gonna be able to do it with all these doubleheaders we have. With all these rainouts, I don't know what's gonna happen.""