Yankees-Mariners: Mike Mussina Shuts Down Seattle

Mike Mussina shut down the Mariners and Johnny Damon led the Yankees' offense to a 6-1 win over Felix Hernandez and Seattle.

The Yankee bats jumped on Hernandez (2-2) early and often with six runs off the young star in 5.2 innings.

Johnny Damon led a balanced Yankee attack, going 3-for-5 with a homer, two RBI, and three runs. 

The Yankee bats came to life with 13 hits, including five different players with two or more.  Derek Jeter also had three hits and an RBI, while Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu and Melky Cabrera each had two.

Mussina (4-3) had his third straight good start since getting shelled three weeks ago by Boston.  He pitched six innings, giving up seven hits and one run while striking out five.  He even struck out the side to end his day in the sixth inning.

King Felix was not so lucky.  He went 5.2 innings and gave up 12 hits and six runs in his shortest outing of the year.  Ichiro was the offensive star for the Mariners going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.

The Mariners lost their fourth straight game, scoring only 10 runs in that stretch.  They fell to 13-18 on the season.

The Yankees won their second straight game in the series after being swept by the Tigers last week.  Also for the second straight day, the Yanks got a strong performance from their starter.

LaTroy Hawkins, Edwar Ramirez, and Jose Veras each pitched an inning to finish the game for the Yankees. 

New York moved back to .500 (16-16) with the win. 

Carlos Silva (3-0) will go for the Mariners on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. in the series finale. Darrell Rasner (0-0) will make his first major league start of the year for the Yankees.