Post by Yankees90 on Aug 15, 2006 15:03:51 GMT -5
Yankees send Mussina to mound
08/15/2006 1:04 AM ET
By Ryan Mink / MLB.com
The Yankees already have faced some of the worst in their grueling 21 games in 20 days stretch.
They opened with the defending champion White Sox, then welcomed in the only team to have a winning record against them in the past decade, the Angels.
And while the Yankees are still in first place, the run wasn't pleasant as they went 3-4 and saw their three-game lead in the American League East skimmed to two games.
Now the Yankees will get perhaps their biggest reprieve as they take on the fourth-place Orioles, whom they are 6-3 against this season, for a three-game series. After that, they head to Boston for a five-game series.
"We need to get on it everyday," Torre said. "You can't say this one's more important than any other day. Obviously when you've lost three out of four you want to get on it. The best feeling a manager can have, and I know the players have it, is winning [yesterday]."
With a win Monday night, the Yankees split their series against the Angels. They had lost three of their last four games and four of their last six. So the Orioles likely will provide the Yankees' best chance at racking up some wins.
"We don't have the record we have right now by going in and taking people for granted, and we're certainly not going to do that [Tuesday]," Torre said.
Mike Mussina will take the hill for the Yankees in the series opener. The staff's ace and most steady force during the first half of the season has evened out since. Mussina has only once allowed fewer than three earned runs in his past seven starts and has a 4.40 ERA during that time.
But Torre said he's not at all concerned with Mussina's recent outings.
"When you have a great pitcher like Moose, even when the outings aren't really good, 90 percent of those days he's going to keep you in the game," Torre said. "He's going to minimize the damage. He's going to keep you in the game. That's the advantage of having somebody with that experience."
Pitching matchup
BAL: LHP Erik Bedard (12-8, 3.91 ERA)
Bedard allowed four runs in seven innings in his last outing against Toronto. He is 0-2 in his last three starts after a seven-game winning streak. He is 1-3 with a 6.45 ERA in six career games against the Yankees.
NYY: RHP Mike Mussina (13-5, 3.50 ERA)
Mussina got his first loss after winning four of five, losing to Baltimore on Aug. 5. He allowed three earned runs in five innings. Mussina is 9-5 with a 4.19 ERA in his career against his former team.
Player to watch
Alex Rodriguez is 5-for-11 with one homer and two RBIs against Bedard in his career. Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with the game-winning sacrifice fly RBI Monday night.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• YES
On radio
• WCBS-AM 880 (Español)
Up next
• Wednesday: Orioles (RHP Rodrigo Lopez, 8-12, 6.20) at Yankees (RHP Cory Lidle, 9-8, 4.66), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Orioles (LHP Adam Loewen, 2-4, 6.41) at Yankees (RHP Jaret Wright, 9-6, 4.24), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Yankees (RHP Chien-Ming Wang, 13-5, 3.84) at Red Sox (LHP Jon Lester, 6-2, 4.09), 1:05 p.m. ET
[glow=red,2,300]Lets Go Yankees![/glow]