Seems the rumors of The Moose's demise were highly exaggerated.
Mike Mussina turned in his third straight solid game, Johnny Damon went uppper deck and the bullpen spun out three more innings of shutout relief as the
Yankees cruised to a 6-1 win over the Mariners on an overcast afternoon in the Bronx.
The Bombers jumped on King Felix early, scoring four runs in the first three innings, and the top four in the order combined to go 10 for 19 with five runs batted in. Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 13 with a 2 for 5 day and the unlikely trio of LaTroy Hawkins, Edwar Ramirez and
Jose Veras (yep, the Yanks now have nine relievers) closed the door as the Yanks captured their second straight win and moved back to .500 on the season.
The Good:Mike Mussina. The magician was back in form for the Yanks. There are still times when it looks like Mussina is one pitch or one batter away from allowing things to slip away, but it didn't happen (again) on Saturday. The Moose started strong (retiring the first six hitters), tap-danced out of some hairy situations in the middle innings and then struck out the side to complete his day. It may never look pretty when Mussina is on the mound, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Moose improved to 4-3 with this effort: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Johnny Damon. If the Yanks expect to score runs with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada out of the lineup then guys are going to have to step up. Mr. Damon to the rescue! Johnny got the Bombers off and running with a double to lead off the bottom of the first and came around to score on a Bobby Abreu single. Damon ignited another rally with a one-out double in the third and later scored on a Derek Jeter double to give the Yanks a lead they would never relinquish. Then Johnny put the game out of reach in the sixth with a two-run bomb into the upper deck in right to extend the Bomber lead to 6-1. Johnny D's bat is starting to heat up (he was batting .400 in his last seven before Saturday) and that can only mean good things for the Yanks. Damon finished 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs.
Derek Jeter. The Captain is still searching for his first home run of the season, but there's no shame in collecting a multi-hit game. Jeter's RBI-double in the third gave the Yanks the lead after the Mariners tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the frame. It should come as no surprise -- Jeter entered the game batting .440 with runners in scoring position. DJ finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and a run batted in.
The Bad:Jason Giambi. It was a close call between Giambi and Robinson Cano (who went 0 for 3 with an intentional walk), but the Giambino gets the nod for his continued baffling play at first base. Morgan Ensberg's throw pulled Giambi off the bag in the sixth, but it looked like the big guy still had a chance to touch the base before the runner. Negative. Giambi almost turned an ankle trying to get back as Ensberg was charged with an error. In the seventh inning, Jeter's return throw on a potential double play ball was wide of the mark, but Giambi committed too early at first base. The miscue went to DJ as the runner advanced to second. Giambi wasn't charged with any errors, but if this was a murder case, Jay Jay would be fingered as an accomplice in both instances. Giambi finished 0 for 3 with a walk.
The Ugly:Steady! It seems like the Yanks are getting an injury scare on a daily basis. Jeter slid into second on a double play ball hit by Bobby Abreu in the sixth, but he was slow getting up. It was difficult to tell what happened (even with a replay), but it looked like Jeet may have gotten kicked on the way in. It turned out to be nothing and it could be that I'm starting to get a bit paranoid, but with the recent rash of injuries on the roster I think I'm justified.
The Yanks will pull out the brooms on Sunday and give the ball to Darrell Rasner (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Rasner will be taking over for Phil Hughes for the next few months (maybe). He went 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA last season and is 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA in two career starts against the M's. Carlos Silva (3-0, 2.79 ERA) will try and salvage a win for Seattle. Silva was an off-season pickup from the Minnesota Twins and has pitched well thus far. He's gone at least six innings in all of his starts this season, but he's 0-2 in two lifetime starts in the Bronx with a portly 8.68 ERA.
Time to seize the day, Darrell.
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