Bryan Hoch, MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Those games when Mariano Rivera's cutter refuses to defy physics are still few and far between. The nights when A.J. Burnett walks out the door without a win have seemed much more frequent.
The Yankees had to reluctantly swallow both on Tuesday. Burnett came unhinged in a four-run sixth inning, and Rivera served up Bobby Abreu's go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth as the Angels swatted out a 6-4 victory in the Bronx.
"It can happen any time," said Rivera, who was also victimized by blowing a save on Sunday against the Red Sox and hadn't allowed a homer all year at home. "You have to make sure the pitch gets there. This time, I didn't."
New York's third consecutive loss had a glimmer of hope against Jordan Walden in the ninth inning, but Curtis Granderson was caught stealing by a first-to-third move representing the tying run, leaving Mark Teixeira at home plate with an incomplete at-bat.
Abreu's second homer of the game and just his sixth of the year came after the Yankees had patched over a late Burnett skid, mounting a three-run rally in the seventh inning to spoil a strong start by Angels right-hander Dan Haren.
"I know anything can happen, but you have to be realistic -- he's the best closer in the game," Abreu said of Rivera. "It's hard sometimes just to make good contact against him."
In the ninth, Rivera recorded the first two outs, firing deftly to second base on a sacrifice bunt to cut down Alberto Callaspo and then inducing a groundout, but Abreu connected with Erick Aybar aboard to plant the crushing blow into the right-field seats.
"It was a cutter that didn't cut there enough," Rivera said. "He was able to put good wood on the ball."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the moments when Rivera can't pinpoint his bread-and-butter pitch are still "very, very seldom," but the 41-year-old closer also coughed up a lead to the Red Sox on Sunday in a 3-2 loss.
"One has nothing to do with the other," Rivera said. "Those are things that happen in baseball."
Burnett had a new look for this start, walking to the mound tucking a shocking shade of blond underneath his cap. He said that it had been a surprise for his 7-year-old son, Ashton, who has been sporting a similar style.
Burnett might have hoped it could also change his luck. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the answers to Burnett's struggles don't seem to reside at the bottom of a bleach bottle.
Three walks, including an intentional free pass, set up Jeff Mathis' two-run ground-rule double in the sixth inning after Burnett -- still winless since June 29 -- had navigated the first five frames carefully.
"I wouldn't change a lot that I did," Burnett said. "Pretty much, I pitched with conviction all night."
Starting the sixth, Abreu quickly tied the game with a line-drive solo homer, something that Burnett said he'd put aside before continuing.
"I'm going to challenge him there," Burnett said. "He put a line-drive swing on it; that's not out of most parks. I'm not going to get upset over that. I'll get upset about it later tonight, not while I'm on the mound."
Mark Trumbo worked a one-out walk -- Burnett's first free pass in 63 batters faced -- and tagged up on a deep flyout, prompting a free pass to Maicer Izturis.
Girardi said that he called for the intentional walk to Izturis because he entered the game 6-for-19 (.316) against Burnett and singled in his first two at-bats; the next hitter, Peter Bourjos, hadn't seen Burnett before Tuesday.
But the plan backfired, as Burnett walked Bourjos to load the bases. Mathis made him pay, belting a curveball into Monument Park on a bounce before a wild pitch brought home Bourjos as well.
Burnett is 0-8 with a 7.18 ERA in 13 August starts as a Yankee since joining the club in 2009. Girardi refused to answer when asked who would be his No. 2 starter if the postseason started now.
"We're so far away from that, I'm not concerned about that right now," Girardi said. "Our concern is winning ballgames and trying to win our division."
Haren held the Yankees to just Granderson's first-inning solo homer, his 29th, until the Bombers came alive in the seventh. Haren allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out six.
"Haren just has that little bit of late movement," Girardi said. "It seemed like we were just missing some balls. That's how he pitches."
In that seventh, Russell Martin logged a two-out double before scoring on Eduardo Nunez's bloop hit, and a Brett Gardner single sent the Angels to the bullpen.
Derek Jeter greeted reliever Fernando Rodney with a two-run single, both runs charged to Haren, who watched from the bench with amazement painted across his face.
But the Angels got the last laugh, as Abreu victimized his former team and Granderson's faux pas on the bases left Teixeira with a stunned expression -- a look that seemed all too familiar.
"They just happened to catch me," Granderson said. "The main thing is, I've got to go ahead and be aggressive in that situation, and I was.
"You could say, 'We're relying on Mark to get a three-run home run,' but the odds are that's probably not going to happen. It's a little easier for me to score from second base than first."
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