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Yankees look to Wang to get back on track

Sep 4, 2007 - 12:57 PM Seattle (74-62) at Ny Yankees (76-62) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) - In a battle for the American League wild card, the New York Yankees turn to their most reliable pitcher against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Chien-Ming Wang takes the mound looking for his major league-leading 17th win as the Yankees look to extend their lead in over the Mariners (74-62) to two games.

New York has suffered a letdown since completing a three-game sweep of the first-place Boston Red Sox and could use a lift from Wang.

The Yankees, who trail the Red Sox (83-55) by seven games, have scored just three runs in their last two games. To make matters worse, Roger Clemens left his start after four innings on Monday to get an MRI on his right elbow.

Wang, who has won three straight starts, is coming off a dominating performance in which he allowed just one hit in seven innings of a 5-0 win over Boston. In his last start against Seattle, Wang came within five outs of a perfect game in a 8-1 win on May 5.

On Monday, Seattle ended its season-high nine game losing streak as Felix Hernandez threw seven solid innings and Yuniesky Betancourt drove in three runs in a 7-1 win in the opener.

Horacio Ramirez (8-4, 6.55 ERA) takes the hill for the Mariners. Ramirez allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, but did not factor into the decision in a 8-5 loss to Cleveland on Thursday.

Ramirez is 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA in two career starts against New York.