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Mussina aims for 18th win vs. Mariners

Sep 7, 2008 - 12:48 PM Ny Yankees (76-66) at Seattle (58-66) 4:10 pm. EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Mike Mussina's bounce-back season may be all for naught as the New York Yankees continue to stumble to the finish line. Mussina takes the hill on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners looking for his 18th win.

New York, which has not missed the postseason since 1993, avoided a third straight loss by rallying for five runs in the seventh en route to a 7-4 victory on Saturday.

Despite Mussina's best effort in years, New York is 7 1/2 games back of Boston (83-58) in the wild card. The 39-year-old righthander posted a career-worst 5.15 ERA last season, but has been outstanding thus far and is on pace to win 20 games for the first time in his 18-year career.

He won 19 games twice with Baltimore in 1995 and 1996. Mussina (17-7, 3.39 ERA) is 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA in seven outings since his last loss on July 28. Mussina should enjoy facing the Mariners as he has won eight straight decisions against them.

His strong efforts may all go to waste though because the Yankees' playoff hopes are slim. New York plays 16 of its last 20 games against teams with a .500 record or better.

Still, captain Derek Jeter is not giving up.

"We've got 20 games left and the last time I looked, we're not 21 games out yet," Jeter said.

Jeter and company will look to tee off on Carlos Silva (4-14, 6.53), who is looking to avoid matching his career-high in losses. Silva allowed six runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 12-6 win over Texas on Monday. The righthander has lost four straight starts to New York.