Mariano Rivera can become the all-time saves leader this afternoon when the New York Yankees play a makeup game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.
Rivera tied Trevor Hoffman with his 601st save on Saturday, but was not needed on Sunday when the Yankees lost the rubber match of their three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, falling 3-0 at Rogers Centre.
Freddy Garcia (11-8) went the first 4 2/3 innings for New York and was charged with three runs on five hits and three walks. The veteran righty has been roughed up for 15 runs in 12 1/3 innings over his last three outings. Still, he had been 4-0 over his last seven starts and suffered his first loss since a 7-1 setback to Toronto on July 15.
"He just missed his spots," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of his starter.
Despite the loss New York still maintained a five-game lead in the loss column on Boston atop the American League standings, as the Red Sox dropped three of four to the surging the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees will host both the Rays and the Red Sox on this final homestand of the season.
But first they must play this afternoon's rescheduled game from an April 6 rainout, as A.J. Burnett tries to string back-to-back wins together for the first time since winning his first three starts of the year.
Burnett, who will start a day earlier because of back spasms to Phil Hughes, earned a win in Seattle on Tuesday, as he held the Mariners to a pair of runs, four hits and struck out 11 in six innings to run his record to 10-11 on the year to go along with a 5.20 earned run average.
"It's a big confidence boost," said Burnett. "The bottom line is that I was able to make that adjustment and keep my team in the game. I had some runners on and never broke down, never broke confidence, and was making pitches when I needed to."
Burnett, though, couldn't get out of the second inning the last time he faced the Twins, as he surrendered seven runs and five hits in just 1 2/3 frames. For his career he is 4-2 with a 4.19 ERA in 10 starts against them.
Minnesota will counter with young Scott Diamond, who has lost his last two starts and is 1-4 with a 3.94 ERA. This will be the 25-year-old lefty's first- ever start against the Yanks.
One year removed from their second straight American League Central title, the Twins appear headed towards a last place finish in the division and come into today's contest having dropped eight in a row.
New York, which is a major league-best 40-12 in day games, has beaten Minnesota in five of seven matchups this season.
