Moose Big Trouble for Orioles

It couldn't possibly happen. Mike Mussina pitch 2 good games in a row? No way! But that's what happened at Yankee Stadium last night as Moose tossed 7 scoreless innings in the Yankees 12-0 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles. The win moved the Yankees 2.5 (2 in the loss column) games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, thanks to another TNT outing from Eric Gagne. The Detroit Tigers also blew another lead to the Cleveland Indians, reducing the Yankees magic number to clinch the Wild Card down to 7.

Mussina walked Brian Roberts to start the game, and we started to unwrap the latest from Netflix, but Mussina turned a 1-6-3 double play and ended up retiring 20 of 23 hitters. And the offense made sure that Mussina wouldn't have to sweat it.

Doug Mientkiewicz, making his 3rd straight start, drove in 4 runs for the 1st time in 2 years. It included a 3-run HR that gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead after 4 innings. It also drove Orioles starter Jon Leicester (2-2) from the game.

The much maligned Orioles bullpen lived up to their reputation, completely putting the game out of reach. Hideki Matsui, who homered on Monday for the 1st time in over a month, drove in 3 runs as did Melky Cabrera. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter each had 3 hits, with Cano driving in 2 runs.

But this night belonged to Moose. The right-hander won his 249th career game and solidly put himself back in the playoff rotation mix. He allowed 3 hits over 7 innings, issuing only that 1 walk, and struck out 6. He had his command and was in total command. Mussina also extended his record streak of 16 consecutive seasons with double figure wins as he evened his record at 10-10.


photos courtesy of AP