Yankees-Astros 1:05, ESPN (3/15)

Mike Mussina takes to the hill today as the Yankees travel to Kissimmee to go against the Houston Astros. Former Yankee Andy Pettitte will get the nod for Houston.

Update 2:10

Yankees lead it 3-1 after 3 1/2; Mitch Jones has smacked his third home run. It came off of knuckleballer Steve Sparks.

Update 3:20

Yankees lead the Astros 8-1 after 7 1/2. Some good news - an MRI on Johnny Damon's shoulder revealed tendonitis.

Update 3:55

Yankees win it 11-1 as Mitch Jones homers twice, and Robinson Cano goes 3-4. Mike Mussina picked up the victory, while Andy Pettitte was shouldered with the loss.

GAME NOTES

The Yankees ripped 17 hits off of 4 Astro pitchers, lead by Kevin Thompson's 4-5 effort. Thompson drove in 3 runs and scored a pair. Andy Phillips and Robinson Cano had 3 hits apiece. Jason Giambi was in the lineup for the second straight game, going 0-1 with 2 walks.

The big story of this game, however, was Mike Mussina. Moose went 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 8. He threw 78 pitches, 60 of them for strikes. Ron Villone, Scott Erickson, Ramiro Mendoza, and Frank Brooks each tossed a scoreless inning to close out the victory.

Former Yankee Andy Pettitte allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 3 innings pitched.