Yankees 10 – Orioles 4
BALTIMORE – Mike Mussina passed his first live test last night, and the Yankees hope his right groin injury no longer is a strain on their rotation.
Working for the first time since June 11, Mussina looked dominant while retiring the final 12 batters he faced in a five-inning stint during the Yanks’ 10-4 victory over Baltimore.
He provided a boost to a staff that has recently been hobbled and juggled, and the only lingering concern was that he was pulled after only five innings and 66 pitches in what appeared to be “better safe than sorry” reasoning.
He benefited from a surging offense led by Alex Rodriguez’ two homers and five RBIs. The Yankees walked an outrageous 13 times, even without Gary Sheffield – who was out with bursitis in his left shoulder.
Rodriguez and Derek Jeter smashed three-run homers off Baltimore lefty Matt Riley in the first two innings, pacing the way to a victory that kept the Bombers (44-24) 4 ½ games ahead of Boston.
Before Mussina (8-4) took the mound, manager Joe Torre anticipated he’d be holding his breath regarding Mussina’s first few innings. Tanyon Sturtze started five days ago in Mussina’s place, and Torre exercised caution with one of his top hurlers.
The former Oriole ace hadn’t pitched since leaving a start against San Diego after three innings due to right groin tightness, which is a vexing injury for any player – and especially a pitcher.
Although Mussina didn’t need the DL and passed his side-session tests, Torre explained that the adrenaline of a game causes pitchers to use muscles they don’t use in the bullpen.
“You can test them, test them, test them, test them, test them,” Torre said before the game, “but until you get out there in competition, you’re not really testing them.”
Mussina recovered after surrendering a three-run homer in the first inning to Miguel Tejada that flushed the Yankees’ 3-0 edge, dominating as his outing progressed. After Luis Matos doubled inside the left-field line in the second, Mussina didn’t allow another baserunner.
Kevin Brown is currently on the DL with a strained lower back, so an injury-free outing was critical.
Rookie lefty Brad Halsey will start in Brown’s place for at least one more start. Additionally, Jose Contreras has been inconsistent and Jon Lieber also injured his groin this spring.
The Yankees are fishing for starting pitching but may not be able to acquire Seattle’s Freddy Garcia or a comparable arm for a few more weeks.
The deepest lineup in baseball didn’t seem to notice the temporary absence of Sheffield, who received a cortisone shot in New York on Monday and could be back by the end of the series.
The Yankee hitters took advantage of Baltimore’s wildness from the first pitch, as Riley walked Bernie Williams and Jeter before A-Rod mashed a first-pitch fastball to right field for his 17th homer of the season.
That homer broke a tie with Joe DiMaggio for 60th place all-time. His two-run blast in the seventh off Rodrigo Lopez – a 395-foot bomb to left – gave him 363 career HRs.
The height of base-on-ball absurdity came in the sixth, when O’s reliever John Parrish intentionally walked Ruben Sierra to load the bases with two outs. Sierra was in a 1-for-23 skid at the time, and Tony Clark drew a free pass that forced in the Bombers’ eighth run.
Parrish issued four walks in that frame. The last time the Yankees walked 13 times in a nine-inning game was April 2, 1997 at Seattle. They haven’t walked 14 times since a 17-inning game against Detroit on July 20, 1998.