After giving up four earned runs in two innings to the Houston Astros on Monday, Mike Mussina came back with a solid outing Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 4-1 loss.
Mussina struck out five batters over 2 2-3 innings, allowing only one run (a wind-carried solo home run to Jonny Gomes) and walking two batters. He nibbled when he got to two strikes on a batter at times, but was able to record four called strikeouts eventually.
It's tough to judge Mussina after one good start and one bad start thus far. However, Mussina seemed happy with his day:
On the home run: “That was a fly ball to right. He inside-outed the thing. Bobby took three steps to this right and then turned around and started running. But that’s OK.”Mussina will need to give the Yankees at least 200 productive innings this season. As of now, Mussina seems confident, and that's all Yankee fans can ask for at this point.
On his curveball: “I was able to put it where I wanted to put it. I was able to dump it in there for strikes. Or I could throw it harder and get it down in there.”
On his arm strength: “It’s about where it should be. There will be more. 88 in March is OK. I can pitch with that if I can get the ball where I want to. 88 is fine in June. But there should be a little bit more.”
The Yankees will travel to Fort Myers, Fla. tomorrow to face the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. Phil Hughes makes the start for New York. Opposing him on the mound will be Boof Bonser.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
0 comments:
Post a Comment