Mussina, Yankees continue run
By Roderick Boone
- NEWSDAY
Updated: 07/24/08 6:37 AM
NEW YORK — Mike Mussina got within a few steps of the dugout when the “Moose” calls grew to a crescendo. The veteran had just put the finishing touch on his latest dazzling performance, which left many in the sellout Yankee Stadium matinee crowd of 54,114 on their feet.
He tipped his cap, acknowledging them right before disappearing into the dugout.
“You don’t get to do it too many times,” Mussina said. “You can walk off the field and feel good about what you’ve done.”
It’s a feeling Mussina has more than once this season. He moved into a tie for the American League lead in wins, collecting No. 13 behind a dominant eight-inning outing that lifted the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Mussina grabbed his third straight win, leaving the Twins flummoxed with a dizzying array of pitches and pinpoint control. He changed speeds brilliantly and rarely found himself in any danger, yielding no runs on six hits.
He fanned seven, including three of the last four he faced, and didn’t surrender a walk for the third consecutive start.
“I feel confident on the mound,” said Mussina, who’s 12-3 in his last 17 starts, “because whatever I need to throw, I’ll just throw it no matter what the situation or what the count.”
“Moose has been incredible,” Alex Rodriguez said. “He’s a magician out there. The most amazing thing about his start is he broke out his change-up like in pitch 75 on a 3-2 pitch and struck out [Carolos] Gomez. It just tells you how much confidence he has in all his pitches.”
That confidence isn’t just confined to Mussina, though. The Yankees are in the midst of their best stretch of the season, chalking up their sixth straight victory. They’ve reeled off 10 consecutive wins at home, their longest single-season winning streak since the 1998 campaign.
Robinson Cano, who is on a huge second-half tear, went 2 for 4 and had his sixth straight multi-hit game.
“I’ve been swinging great,” Cano said. “Every time I hit it, I hit it hard.”
Cano had a hand in the Yankees’ fifth-inning rally, which gave them the lead. Justin Christian connected with a clutch two-out hit, doubling just inside the left field line off Glen Perkins to score Cano and a chugging Jose Molina for a 2-0 lead.
