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Mussina aims for 10th win vs. Astros

Jun 14, 2008 - 1:41 PM NY Yankees (35-33) at Houston (33-35) 7:05 p.m. EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Mike Mussina will attempt to become an unlikely 10-game winner when the New York Yankees visit the Houston Astros in interleague action Saturday.

Mussina, 39, had his worst major league season in 2007, going 11-10 with a career-high 5.15 ERA, leading some to suggest that he may be nearing the end of an illustrious career.

But the veteran righthander has reinvented himself this season, using pinpoint control to makeup for a fastball that no longer reaches 90 miles per hour.

Mussina (9-4, 3.82 ERA) was an afterthought in the Yankees rotation at the beginning of the season but has been the steadiest member of the staff over the past 10 starts, going 8-1 with a 3.18 ERA since April 23.

He allowed just two runs in a season-high eight innings Monday against Kansas City but did not factor in the decision. Mussina is 20-12 with a 3.81 ERA in 42 career interleague starts.

New York took the opener of the series, 2-1, Friday when Derek Jeter snapped a 1-1 tie with a solo homer to the opposite field in the eighth inning. Rookie Joba Chamberlain gave up one run in a career-high six innings.

The Astros will send lefthander Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 1.99) to the mound Saturday. The 29-year-old spent over a month on the disabled list with a strained groin and is 1-2 since his return on May 28.

Rodriguez has been let down by his defense in his last two losses, allowing 11 runs - three earned. He is 4-4 with a 4.82 ERA in 10 career interleague starts.