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Mussina, Yankees look to bounce back vs. Devil Rays

Jul 20, 2007 - 3:03 PM Tampa Bay (37-57) at NY Yankees (48-45) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Mike Mussina will take the mound as the New York Yankees look to get back on track in the opener of a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

The Yankees, who had won five in a row and 12 of their last 17 games, dropped the finale of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2, on Thursday afternoon.

Aaron Hill tied the game with a two-out triple and scored the go-ahead run on a base hit by Gregg Zaun as the Blue Jays avoided a four-game sweep.

But despite the loss, New York has won four straight series to get back in the race against the struggling Boston Red Sox in the American League East. The Yankees now trail by seven games.

The Yankees turn to Mussina (4-6, 4.61 ERA), who has won just two of his last eight starts. The righthander allowed three runs and 11 hits in six innings, but did not figure in a 7-6 victory over the Devil Rays on Sunday.

Mussina again will take on the struggling Edwin Jackson (1-9, 7.14), who yielded four runs and six hits with six strikeouts in six frames in that contest against New York.

Jackson's lone win this season came on June 24 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he allowed two runs and nine hits in six innings.

Tampa Bay, which lost three out of four to New York last weekend, has lost six of its last nine contests.