By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com TORONTO -- Nearly two years to the day after A.J. Burnett walked off the same mound to a standing ovation, offering the Yankees a tantalizing glimpse of his potential, the mercurial right-hander gave his current team reason for concern. Burnett was torched for seven runs and could not make it out of the third inning as the Yankees were unable to secure their own playoff destiny Monday, suffering a 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays that raised serious questions about his effectiveness in a potential playoff start. Home runs by Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira were not enough to make up the difference as the Yankees lost for the fifth time in six games. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains at one, pending the outcome of the game between the Red Sox and White Sox in Chicago. After two of Burnett's last three outings were cut short due to rain, the retractable roof of the Rogers Centre made that a near-impossibility, though a five-run third inning may have made the Yankees long for a reset button. Already up 2-0 on a Jose Bautista RBI groundout and John Buck's 19th home run, Toronto batted around in the third against Burnett. The big blow came on Vernon Wells' 31st home run, a three-run shot to left field that put the Blue Jays up by five runs at the time. Buck chased Burnett with an RBI single, and Edwin Encarnacion drove in the last run of the inning with a sacrifice fly facing reliever Jonathan Albaladejo, closing the book on Burnett after seven hits, a walk and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings. He was derisively cheered by the same Toronto fan base that had warmly received him on Sept. 24, 2008, under much different circumstances, tipping his cap that day before opting out of his deal with the Blue Jays and agreeing to a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Yankees. Since Aug. 1, Burnett -- who was the Yankees' No. 2 starter in last year's postseason and contributed a big outing in Game 2 of the World Series -- is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA, and has now allowed at least six runs in a game a Major League-leading 10 times. The Yankees were handled early by left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, who tied a career high with nine strikeouts, including six straight beginning in the second inning. Granderson closed the gap in the fifth inning with his third home run in the last four games, a two-run shot to right field that was his 24th. Rzepczynski was done after five innings, allowing just those two runs on four hits, with three walks. The Yankees closed within two runs in the seventh after Derek Jeter beat out an infield hit, tangling with Toronto reliever Brian Tallet and ruled safe at first base. After a Nick Swisher single, Teixeira crushed his 32nd home run into the center-field black, a three-run shot.
