(Best E Casino) - The last time
New York Yankees starter Mike Mussina faced the
Pittsburgh Pirates he posted his 23rd career shutout in the Bronx. Tonight, he will take the mound in the Steel City in the finale of a three- game interleague series from PNC Park.
Mussina took the ball for the first time in his career against Pittsburgh on June 14 of the 2005 campaign at Yankee Stadium, and allowed five hits to go along with six strikeouts and one walk in a 9-0 drubbing of the Bucos.
The veteran right-hander is 10-5 with a 3.93 earned run average in 16 games this season, but had a personal winning streak halted the last time out on June 20 in a 4-2 setback versus the Cincinnati Reds. Mussina had won four straight decisions before yielding four runs and a season-high 10 hits in eight frames.
With a win tonight, Mussina will be tied with Anaheim's Joe Saunders and Arizona's Brandon Webb for the most wins in the major leagues. He has history on his side to achieve the feat, as Mussina owns the best mark in interleague play at 21-13. He is 8-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 21 starts on the road against National League opponents.
New York manager Joe Girardi was not pleased after the Yankees' 12-5 loss to the Pirates in the series opener, so his ballclub went out Wednesday night and handed the hosts a 10-0 pummeling in a 16-hit attack led by Bobby Abreu. The right fielder went 3-for-5 with a three-homer and four RBI to power the Yankees, who have won nine of their last 12 games. New York is 5 1/2 games off Boston's lead in the American League standings.
Robinson Cano had three hits, including a solo homer, and Derek Jeter continued to tear up NL pitching with three hits, three runs scored and a run batted in. Jeter has hit safely in all 13 interleague games this season, hitting .392 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI over that span. The Yankees' captain owns the most hits among major leaguers in interleague play with 274, while toting a .336 average against the Senior Circuit.
Prized young starter Joba Chamberlain hurled 6 2/3 shutout innings last night, allowing six hits with seven K's and one walk. Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras then closed the door to preserve New York's win. The Yankees will take on the cross-town rival New York Mets this weekend, starting with a day-night doubleheader on Friday at both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium.
Jack Wilson highlighted the Pittsburgh offense with three hits and Ryan Doumit finished 2-for-4 with the only extra base hit for the team. Wilson is batting .417 in his last six contests. Starting pitcher Zach Duke was roughed up for four runs -- three earned -- and seven hits through five innings of work to absorb the loss.
The Pirates will hand the ball to streaking lefty Paul Maholm on Thursday, and he is 3-0 with a 3.61 earned run average over his last six trips to the mound. Maholm recently topped the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, giving up three runs and seven hits in seven innings of a 6-3 victory.
Maholm, who is 4-1 with a 3,47 ERA in nine home starts this season, lost to Roger Clemens and the Yankees on June 9 last summer after giving up five runs, three of which were earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 9-3 setback.
The Yankees have won seven of the eight regular season matchups with the Pirates, sweeping them both times in the Bronx. Pittsburgh is actually the only NL town the Yankees had yet to visit since the inception of interleague play in 1997.
Of course, this is New York's first visit to the Steel City since one of the most crushing defeats in its storied history. The Pirates beat them in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series on a bottom of the ninth inning home run by Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski.
To this day, Mazeroski's homer remains the only Game 7-ending homer in World Series history.
