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Yankees turn to minors for pitching help

Apr 17, 2007 - 9:25 PM Cleveland (6-3) at NY Yankees (5-6), 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Just 11 games into the season, the New York Yankees are already dipping into their farm system for pitching help.

Chase Wright (NR) will take the mound Tuesday as the Yankees host the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a three-game series.

New York placed starters Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano on the disabled list Sunday. Chien-Ming Wang has been on the DL since the start of the season.

Wright (NR) was recalled from Class AA Trenton where he pitched 14 scoreless innings while striking out 19 in two starts this season. The 24-year-old lefthander was the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year at Class A Tampa in 2006 and impressed the Yankees' brass with a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings at major league camp this spring.

The Indians will counter with former Yankee Jake Westbrook. The 29-year-old sinkerballer made three starts with the Yankees in 2000 before being traded for David Justice.

Westbrook (0-1, 7.36 ERA), who would have been a free agent at the end of the 2007 season, signed a three-year, $33 million extension with Cleveland last Friday.

The righthander has gotten off to a slow start this season, surrendering seven runs in five innings in his first start and picking up a loss last Wednesday despite allowing just two earned runs in six innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Indians took two of three from Chicago this past weekend, winning 2-1 on Sunday despite getting just one hit.

The Yankees dropped two of three at Oakland after closer Mariano Rivera yielded a three-run homer to Marco Scutaro in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss.