Tigers Hammer Mussina, Beat Yanks, 16-0

Aug 28, 12:10 AM

Current Headlines: DETROIT _ Mike Mussina didn't make a very convincing case to hang on to his spot in the rotation Monday night. He also didn't do much to help the Yankees in their push for a playoff spot.

Mussina was knocked around for the third straight start, allowing six runs over three disastrous innings, as the Tigers battered the Yankees, 16-0, to take three of four from the Bombers. The 16-run loss was the worst of the year for the Yankees.

Mussina (8-10), who allowed nine hits and one walk, is 0-3 with a 17.69 ERA in is last three starts, pitching just 9 2/3 innings.

"It's disappointing; the last nine innings are probably the worst nine innings I've pitched in my career in a row," Mussina said. "It's tough to take. I don't really know how to describe it, because I've never had to deal with it before."

The Yankees finished their road trip to Anaheim and Detroit with a 2-5 record, sending them stumbling home to the Bronx for a big three-game set against the first-place Red Sox, who lead them by eight games in the AL East. The Mariners, who hosted the Angels late Monday night, led the Yankees by 2{ games in the wild-card race following Detroit's win.

"There's no time to lick your wounds; you have to go out and play, start putting wins up again," Joe Torre said. "This game was a downer for everybody, but I don't think it will affect how we go out there (Tuesday night)."

Mussina's next turn is scheduled for Saturday against the Devil Rays, as he isn't lined up to face either the Red Sox or Mariners during the season's final month. Should Torre opt not to replace him with either Kei Igawa, Steven White or Ian Kennedy for the stretch run, Mussina would be lined up to face Tampa Bay and Kansas City in his next two starts.

"If Joe thinks that somebody else can give us a lift or do the job better, that's up to him," Mussina said. "I'm certainly not hoping that somebody else is taking my spot, because I want to keep going out there and figure out what's going on; I can't believe in three starts that I forgot how to pitch after 17 years."

Torre said he, Mussina and pitching coach Ron Guidry would discuss it today, but the manager didn't offer any hints when asked directly about Mussina's future.

"We'll sit down and talk about it (today) and see how he feels; right now, he's still in line," Torre said. "I'm not prepared to answer those questions right now. Give me a day to digest it and I'll be able to answer some more questions."

It was clear from the first inning Monday night that the Tigers were not a team Mussina could tame, having allowed seven runs in five innings against Detroit two starts ago.

Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco led off with singles in the first, but Granderson ran himself out of a potential run when he was thrown out at home by Robinson Cano on a heads-up play by the second baseman.

One out later, Mussina walked Magglio Ordonez to load the bases. Carlos Guillen drilled a sac fly to deep center, where Melky Cabrera made a nice running catch to save an extra-base hit and a couple of runs, as Polanco scored on the play.

"I got a couple of great plays in the first inning and thought my luck might change a little bit," Mussina said. "To hold that to a one-run inning, I thought things might have been getting better."

It wasn't. Mussina, who threw 30 pitches in the first, gave up three hits in the second - two with two outs - including Granderson's two-run double.

Detroit continued to pour it on in the third, scoring three more times on four more hits. Brandon Inge's two-run double, a pop fly to right field that Bobby Abreu couldn't run down, gave Detroit a 6-0 lead.

"Two weeks ago, I felt really good about the way I was throwing the ball and I felt good about what was happening as a team," Mussina said. "We were playing some of our best baseball. Two weeks later, it's completely at the other end of the spectrum."

Torre chose not to send Mussina back out for the fourth, but the bullpen was worse; Edwar Ramirez and Sean Henn combined to allow 10 more runs.

Although the Tigers piled on runs at will, it was hardly necessary. Justin Verlander (14-5) bounced back from a terrible start against the Indians last week to throw seven shutout innings, holding the Yankees to just three hits.

Igawa, who was sent down just days before the trade deadline, is 2-2 with a 4.21 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Scranton since his demotion. White is 5-4 with a 3.61 there in 15 games (14 starts) this season. Kennedy, the club's first-round pick last year, is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts at Triple-A and 12-3 with a 1.91 ERA overall.

"I hope he has confidence enough in me to keep sending out there and let me figure this out," Mussina said. "At the same time, we need to win ballgames, and I'll understand if he thinks we need to do something else."

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