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MLB

Yankees Pick Burnett on Short Rest for Game 5

Posted Nov 01, 2009 5:15PM By Jeff Fletcher (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Phillies, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, World Series

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PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Burnett is scheduled to start Game 5 of the World Series for the Yankees on Monday, manager Joe Girardi announced on Sunday. Burnett would be going on three days rest for the first time this season, although he's had some success on short rest in his career.

The decision was not a surprise, because the other alternative was Chad Gaudin, who has pitched just one inning this postseason. It now appears the Yankees are going to use only three starters throughout the playoffs. Andy Pettitte would be starter on three days' rest in Game 6, but Girardi said he'd have to check with Pettitte in the coming days before finalizing that.

"Our guys feel good this time of year," Girardi said. "We took it easy on them -- that's probably a bad way to state it. We tried to give them som extra rest in the month of September, and they've had some extra rest during the playoffs and we thought that was very important."

Burnett has made four starts on three days' rest, including three last year with Toronto, and he is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA. Burnett was the winning pitcher in Game 2. He gave up one earned run in seven innings of the Yankees' 3-1 victory.

The Phillies will send Cliff Lee to the mound on Monday. There was some discussion among the media about whether Charlie Manuel should have used Lee on three days' rest for Sunday's Game 4, but Manuel said it was never really a consideration because Lee had never done it.

"You're asking Clff Lee to do something that he has never done before, but we're also asking him to do it in a very big, important place, and that's in the World Series," Manuel said. "I didn't have to think very long at all about that, and neither did [pitching coach Rich] Dubee."

Lee said that Manuel asked him if he had ever pitched on three days' rest, and that was the extent of the conversation.

"I let him know that I'd pitch whenever he wants me to pitch," Lee said. "I think I could do it, but he makes the calls."

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