Toronto-Yankees
After some anxious moments early in the season
2007-09-13
After some anxious moments early in the season, New York is back on track for yet another trip to the October postseason. The Yankees looked anything but a contender back in June but barring a colossal collapse in the final 2-1/2 weeks, they will be resuming their normal position amongst the playoff ranks.
Making the playoffs usually is a foregone conclusion for the Yankees. But it's taken until the final weeks of the season for them to actually admit it will likely occur this year.
The Yankees seek a seventh consecutive victory and to increase their AL wild card lead Wednesday when they continue a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
New York (82-62) moved a season-high 20 games over .500 with Tuesday's 9-2 victory. While New York may see its run of nine straight AL East division titles end - it trails the Boston Red Sox by six games with 18 to play - the Yankees' four-game lead over reigning AL champion Detroit for the wild card has made them more confident about reaching the postseason for the 13th straight year.
Mike Mussina (8-10, 5.51 ERA) gets an opportunity to show he belongs in the Yankees' postseason rotation. The veteran right-hander made his first relief appearance of his 17-year career on Sept. 3, allowing three runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings after replacing Roger Clemens in a 7-1 defeat to Seattle.
He has yet to face the Blue Jays this season, but is 21-11 in 39 career starts against them. Mussina, who has won his last three decisions overall against them, is 8-8 in 21 starts at Toronto, where he has not lost since Aug. 29, 2004.
Toronto (72-72) has dropped four straight, and in danger of falling below .500 for the first time since July 30. This recent slide has left them 10 games behind the Yankees, all but ending their playoff chances.
Dustin McGowan (10-8, 3.90) has won consecutive starts for Toronto, limiting opponents to three runs in 16 innings. The right-hander struck out a career-high 12 Friday at Tampa Bay, yielding just two runs and four hits in a 7-2 victory.
He is 2-0 in as many starts against the Yankees this season, giving up four runs and nine hits in 14 2-3 innings.
With New York’s bats on fire again as of late, the total for this game is posted at 10.5. In which case: TORONTO is 11-21 (-12.2 Units) against the money line when the total is 10 or higher this season. The average score was TORONTO 3.8, OPPONENT 4.8 - (Rating = 1*)
Mussina’s struggles have made this game a pick em’ though, and he’s lost all three starts this season when he wasn’t the favorite.
Get all the rest of the key game details on the StatFox Matchup Report in the Team Statistics pages of Sportsbook.com.
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