Friday, June 17, 2005
Moose answers call as Yankees roll
NEW YORK -- A little home cooking was all it took to bring out the old offseason blueprint, making the Yankees look all right again.
Mike Mussina shut the Pittsburgh Pirates out on five hits, Hideki Matsui homered and three players contributed two RBIs each, as the Yankees steamrolled to a 9-0 win Tuesday, opening a 13-game homestand in style.
"If you can draw up a way to play a game, that's the way you'd draw it up," Mussina said.
Since the Yankees left Tampa in March, manager Joe Torre has repeatedly stated his belief that this pitching rotation is the strongest, top to bottom, that the team has had during his tenure.
It hasn't always looked that way this season, but you could certainly see Torre's point on Tuesday, with Mussina (7-4) taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and repeatedly taking control of overmatched Pittsburgh batters.
"I kept getting ahead of people, throwing first-pitch strikes," Mussina said. "I got a couple of first-pitch outs, and that really helps you get deep in ballgames."
In control of an excellent curveball and changeup, Mussina mixed and matched his way through the first 14 Pittsburgh hitters before allowing a single to Daryle Ward in the fifth inning, breaking up his bid for perfection.
Toiling through a steamy night in the Bronx, Mussina couldn't complain with what he had at the end, though: a five-hit shutout -- his second complete game of the season -- with six strikeouts and one walk.
Mussina credited the fact that he never had to fight through a tough inning, and that the Yankees gave Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells lengthy fits -- allowing Mussina to cool down in the air-conditioned comfort of the clubhouse -- for keeping the right-hander fresh through the 109-pitch effort.
"What Moose did today sets the tone for what we do on this homestand," said catcher Jorge Posada. "Hopefully, we can build on what he did today, and the guys who follow Moose can do what we ask for."
With Mussina locked in, the Yankees' bats were free to get hot and responded by putting up their second-highest run total in the last three weeks.
Matsui -- questionable to play almost up until game time with a sprained right ankle -- quickly eased any worries by homering on the first pitch he saw from Wells (5-5) in the second inning.
"You have a pitcher perform like [Mussina], you realize that one [run] might be enough," Torre said.
After the Yankees added an unearned run in the third, Posada blooped a run-scoring single to left in the fourth, plating Matsui from second base and extending the lead to 3-0.
Tested on that play, Matsui's heavily-taped ankle proved to be sore but not unplayable, as he ran stiffly and scowled -- as if in pain -- on the 180-foot dash to the plate.
Mussina dominates again
Pittsburgh at NY Yankees, June 14, 2005
Mike Mussina (7-4) picked up the victory with his second complete-game shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career. It was also the 56th complete game of Mussina's career and his 11th as a Yankee. He fanned six of the 32 batters he faced to increase his season strikeout total to 61 and career strikeout total to 2,319. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive batters. His line:
IP H R ER BB SO ERA
9.0 5 0 0 1 6 3.89
Key numbers for Mussina:
Pitches-strikes: 109-76; Groundouts-flyouts: 12-8;
Season strikeouts-walks: 61-21; WHIP: 1.34
Matsui went 2-for-3 before yielding to pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra in the sixth inning. Torre said that Matsui could continue to serve as a DH but likely would not see action in the outfield for a while.
"I always grit my teeth down and look like that, even when my ankle is fine," Matsui said, drawing laughter.
New York broke the game open against Wells in a four-run fifth. Robinson Cano started the inning with a leadoff double and scored on a hit by Gary Sheffield, and Posada legged out an infield single to score Sheffield with the Yankees' fifth run.
Giambi's two-run double to center capped the scoring in the inning and chased Wells, who allowed seven runs -- six earned -- in 4 2/3 innings. Sierra added a two-run single against Ryan Vogelsong in the eighth to extend the lead further.
The Pirates' biggest threat against Mussina came in the sixth, when Jason Bay doubled to right-center. Bernie Williams hit Cano with the throw from the outfield, and the relay to Posada beat Matt Lawton to the plate by several steps, ending the inning.
A thing of beauty, and just the way Torre, Mussina and the Yankees would draw it up. They'll try for an encore or two beginning Wednesday.
"I don't think we played over our heads," Torre said. "I think it's a matter of getting our confidence where we expect to do something like this, instead of being surprised by it."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
Mike Mussina shut the Pittsburgh Pirates out on five hits, Hideki Matsui homered and three players contributed two RBIs each, as the Yankees steamrolled to a 9-0 win Tuesday, opening a 13-game homestand in style.
"If you can draw up a way to play a game, that's the way you'd draw it up," Mussina said.
Since the Yankees left Tampa in March, manager Joe Torre has repeatedly stated his belief that this pitching rotation is the strongest, top to bottom, that the team has had during his tenure.
It hasn't always looked that way this season, but you could certainly see Torre's point on Tuesday, with Mussina (7-4) taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and repeatedly taking control of overmatched Pittsburgh batters.
"I kept getting ahead of people, throwing first-pitch strikes," Mussina said. "I got a couple of first-pitch outs, and that really helps you get deep in ballgames."
In control of an excellent curveball and changeup, Mussina mixed and matched his way through the first 14 Pittsburgh hitters before allowing a single to Daryle Ward in the fifth inning, breaking up his bid for perfection.
Toiling through a steamy night in the Bronx, Mussina couldn't complain with what he had at the end, though: a five-hit shutout -- his second complete game of the season -- with six strikeouts and one walk.
Mussina credited the fact that he never had to fight through a tough inning, and that the Yankees gave Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells lengthy fits -- allowing Mussina to cool down in the air-conditioned comfort of the clubhouse -- for keeping the right-hander fresh through the 109-pitch effort.
"What Moose did today sets the tone for what we do on this homestand," said catcher Jorge Posada. "Hopefully, we can build on what he did today, and the guys who follow Moose can do what we ask for."
With Mussina locked in, the Yankees' bats were free to get hot and responded by putting up their second-highest run total in the last three weeks.
Matsui -- questionable to play almost up until game time with a sprained right ankle -- quickly eased any worries by homering on the first pitch he saw from Wells (5-5) in the second inning.
"You have a pitcher perform like [Mussina], you realize that one [run] might be enough," Torre said.
After the Yankees added an unearned run in the third, Posada blooped a run-scoring single to left in the fourth, plating Matsui from second base and extending the lead to 3-0.
Tested on that play, Matsui's heavily-taped ankle proved to be sore but not unplayable, as he ran stiffly and scowled -- as if in pain -- on the 180-foot dash to the plate.
Mussina dominates again
Pittsburgh at NY Yankees, June 14, 2005
Mike Mussina (7-4) picked up the victory with his second complete-game shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career. It was also the 56th complete game of Mussina's career and his 11th as a Yankee. He fanned six of the 32 batters he faced to increase his season strikeout total to 61 and career strikeout total to 2,319. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive batters. His line:
IP H R ER BB SO ERA
9.0 5 0 0 1 6 3.89
Key numbers for Mussina:
Pitches-strikes: 109-76; Groundouts-flyouts: 12-8;
Season strikeouts-walks: 61-21; WHIP: 1.34
Matsui went 2-for-3 before yielding to pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra in the sixth inning. Torre said that Matsui could continue to serve as a DH but likely would not see action in the outfield for a while.
"I always grit my teeth down and look like that, even when my ankle is fine," Matsui said, drawing laughter.
New York broke the game open against Wells in a four-run fifth. Robinson Cano started the inning with a leadoff double and scored on a hit by Gary Sheffield, and Posada legged out an infield single to score Sheffield with the Yankees' fifth run.
Giambi's two-run double to center capped the scoring in the inning and chased Wells, who allowed seven runs -- six earned -- in 4 2/3 innings. Sierra added a two-run single against Ryan Vogelsong in the eighth to extend the lead further.
The Pirates' biggest threat against Mussina came in the sixth, when Jason Bay doubled to right-center. Bernie Williams hit Cano with the throw from the outfield, and the relay to Posada beat Matt Lawton to the plate by several steps, ending the inning.
A thing of beauty, and just the way Torre, Mussina and the Yankees would draw it up. They'll try for an encore or two beginning Wednesday.
"I don't think we played over our heads," Torre said. "I think it's a matter of getting our confidence where we expect to do something like this, instead of being surprised by it."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
