|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Swan song Mussina gets run support in final start with Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) -- If this was indeed Mike Mussina's last game with the Baltimore Orioles, he will take with him some fond memories of the night and at least a couple of souvenirs. Mussina, who plans becomes a free agent during the offseason, turned in a solid performance in front of an appreciative sellout crowd as the Orioles beat David Cone and the slumping New York Yankees 9-1 Saturday night. Derek Jeter got his 200th and 201st hits for the Yankees, who have lost six straight and 14 of 17. The AL East champions have been outscored 44-7 in their last four games. Mussina (11-15) allowed one run, six hits and a walk in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out seven in capping a disappointing season in which he often received little run support and lost more games than ever before. "At least I was able to finish on a good note," he said. Despite his poor record, the right-hander closed with 210 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA. Those numbers, as well as his career record of 147-81, will enable him to draw plenty of interest when he tests free agency for the first time this fall. Many in the crowd of 48,129 at Camden Yards yelled "Moose!" virtually every time Mussina got two strikes on a hitter, and he received a standing ovation upon leaving with one out in the seventh. Before he left, Mussina made sure to get a baseball from the umpire. He returned for a curtain call, waving his cap to fans who can only hope he decides to finish his career where he started it. "I don't get many curtain calls," Mussina said. "I really appreciate everything the fans have done, and all the positive things they're saying. It was fun to see everyone's reaction during every out, every strikeout situation. It was neat; I hope I get to see it again." Someone placed the lineup card in Mussina's locker, making the night seem even more like a farewell than merely his last start of the season. "Hopefully, Mike comes back," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "I would like to see Mike back, as everybody would. But that remains to be seen, and if it happens that Mike doesn't come back, we'll move on." The Orioles have offered Mussina $72 million over six years, but he nixed the offer. Cone (4-14), like Mussina, might also have pitched in his final game with his current team. Although the Yankees are headed to the playoffs, Cone has yet to prove he can get batters out on a consistent basis as a starter or in relief. "He obviously has less room for error than when he threw a little bit harder," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I still trust him, because of what he has inside him. But we don't have to make a decision (on using Cone in the playoffs) until Monday." Cone's ERA swelled to 6.91 after he allowed six runs, eight hits and three walks in four-plus innings. Cal Ripken and Brady Anderson homered and Albert Belle had three hits for the Orioles, who have won six of eight and have scored 45 runs in their last three games. Ripken's second homer in two games, a two-run drive, put Baltimore up 2-0. Anderson led off the second with his 19th of the season. Jeter's 200th hit came in the fourth inning after Mussina retired the first 10 Yankees. Jeter is only the third Yankee to have three straight 200-hit seasons, joining Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly, and only the fifth AL player to do it over the last 50 years. "He's a special kid," Torre said. "Twenty-six years old and he has 1,000 hits. Some kids haven't even made the majors at 26." Jeter scored on a two-out single by Bernie Williams, but Baltimore made it 5-1 in the bottom half on RBI singles by Eugene Kingsale and Jerry Hairston. Ripken doubled in a run in the fifth to chase Cone and Hairston hit a two-run double in a three-run sixth. Notes: The Yankees' makeup game Monday against Florida was canceled because New York cannot get home-field advantage in the playoffs. ... New York's David Justice ended a 0-for-13 skid with a fourth-inning single. ... The victory enables Baltimore to avoid its first 90-loss season since 1991.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
