No He D'int

Oh yes he did. Mike Mussina went out to the Rogers Centre mound last night in Toronto and threw 5 2-3 shutout innings for his 1st win in over a month. The Yankees managed just 4 hits, but their pitching dominated in a 4-1 win, their 7th straight.

Mussina hadn't chalked up one up in the 'W' column since August 11 and Yankees fans were already scoping out the TV listings prior to the game to see what they could switch too. But there was no need. Moose had a decent fastball and his off-speed pitches broke sharply. He got immediate run support when the Yankees jumped on Jays starter Dustin McGowan in the 1st inning.

McGowan retired the 1st 2 hitters, but issued back-to-back walks to Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. Hideki Matsui, mired in a 5-45 slump, laced an RBI double to left for a 1-0 lead. In doing so, Godzilla snapped an 0-12 skid with men in scoring position. Jays catcher Greg Zaun couldn't stay down on a McGowan pitch in the dirt and it ricocheted off him for a run scoring wild pitch and a 2-0 Yankees advantage.

After a relatively easy 1st inning, Mussina got himself into trouble in the 2nd as the Jays put 2 men aboard with 1 out. But the right-hander struck out Zaun swinging and retired John McDonald on a ground out to Robinson Cano. It was one of 11 assists on the night for the Yankees 2nd Baseman.

The Yankees extended their lead in the 4th when Matsui reached with a lead off single and stole just his 4th base of the season. With an earlier steal by Abreu, 28 of 28 would be base stealers have been successful with McGowan on the mound. (Even more remarkable is the fact that A.J. Burnett, tonight's starter, has given up 27 out of 27). Jorge Posada singled to left and Jason Giambi took a fastball to his elbow to load the bases. Cano then ripped a single to left to double the lead to 4-0, and a career high 82 runs batted in. Then it was up to Moose and the pen.

Mussina left after giving up a 2-out single and walk in the 6th, and the Yankees got a brief scare with Edwar Ramirez on the hill. K-Ram, who struck out 5 the previous night, walked Aaron Hill to bring the tying run to the plate. But Lyle Overbay lined out to Abreu in right to end the threat.

Joba Chamberlain threw a 1-2-3 7th, but finally allowed a run, albeit unearned, in the 8th. After allowing a lead off double to Russ Adams, Chamberlain retired the next 2 hitters with Adams moving to 3rd, before walking Matt Stairs. Hill hit what should have been an inning ending grounder to Alex Rodriguez, but A-Rod's throw pulled Doug Mientkiewicz off the bag at 1st for a run scoring error. With the tying run at the plate, Joe Torre opted to go to Mariano Rivera for a 4-out save.

Overbay reached on an infield single, but Rivera struck out Zaun to end the 8th. He then pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning for his 26th save.

...

Joba Chamberlain's scoreless streak ended at 15 1-3 innings, the 2nd longest in Yankees history. Slow Joe Doyle (who comes up with these nicknames?) had a 18 inning streak in 1906.

The wizards at Baseball Tonight were taking last night's game as a sign that Mike Mussina must be used by Joe Torre in a playoff start. Have these guys actually been watching any games? I can understand it from Eric Young, who has never managed, but Dusty Baker was spouting the same stuff. Then again, Dusty has never won anything.