A.J. Burnett imploded on the mound Saturday as the New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins, 9-4, then appeared to explode as he was leaving it.
Burnett (9-10) didn't make it out of the second inning, tagged in defeat for five hits and seven runs with three walks.
"We need him to pitch like he's capable of pitching. That's the bottom line. He's got struggles. His last two starts were nothing but. We've gotta get him back on track," said Yanks manager Joe Girardi of his embattled starter. "I don't lose confidence in players."
Valencia began the explosive frame with a solo homer to give the Twins a 3-0 edge, and after a one-out double from Luke Hughes and a groundout, Revere knocked him in with a single up the middle. Revere swiped second, Plouffe walked and both moved up on a wild pitch then Mauer walked to load the bases.
That was it for Burnett, who departed with what appeared to be some choice words for Girardi.
"Angry? Of course. Nobody's gonna be happy about coming out of the game," said Burnett, who revealed his verbal explosion came as a result of the last pitch to Mauer. "Oh no, what came out was about that strike, I wasn't talking to Joe."
Luis Ayala came on but walked Morneau to force in another run and also served up a two-run single to Kubel for a 7-0 game.
Minnesota's Francisco Liriano (9-9) worked seven innings for the win, scattering three hits and three walks with an unearned run while fanning six.
The Yankees maintained a half- game lead over Boston in the AL East. The Red Sox lost at Kansas City.