Yankees vs. White Sox Preview From Sportsbook.com

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

MLB: Mussina looks for turnaround

New York Yankees’ backers have had little success when Mike Mussina has taken the mound for his recent outings.

After one of the worst seasons of his career, Mussina is 1-3 out of the gate so far this season and faces a tough Chicago White Sox lineup ranked third in the league in runs per game.

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There was a time when Mike Mussina was a solid bet and almost a guaranteed win whenever he walked to the mound for the Yankees. However, those days are long gone and after posting the highest ERA of his career last season at 5.15, Mussina’s ERA has climbed to 5.75 through his first four starts of this campaign.

The 39 year-old, who accumulated a 92-53 record in his first six seasons in pinstripes, went 11-10 last year and is off to a horrible start this season, having given up 25 hits, five home runs and 14 runs in 20 1/3 innings of work.

Mussina faced the White Sox three times last season and had a 1-1 record with a no-decision in a game the Yanks eventually won.

Wednesday night, ‘Moose’ will be pitching against a Sox lineup that is averaging 5.44 runs per game and ranks fifth in the majors with 25 homers through 18 games. An 11-7 record heading into Tuesday night’s series opener had Chicago atop the AL Central standings as no other team in the division has a winning record.

New York entered Tuesday night’s game tied for third in the AL East with a 10-10 record. White Sox pitcher Javier Vazquez is the scheduled starter for Chicago. He’s off to a great start with a 3-1 record and 3.20 ERA to go with 27 K’s in 25 1/3 innings pitched.

Vazquez has only faced the Yankees twice over the previous two seasons and has a 1-1 record in those outings. In his first four starts this year, Vazquez has given up just nine runs and he’ll be facing a New York lineup that is 20th in the league with just 4.25 runs per game.

One thing about the Yanks is they do get their hits. They have a team batting average of .265, good for ninth in the league and they are 11th in home runs with 20.

New York will likely be without third baseman Alex Rodriquez for this contest. A-Rod strained his right quadriceps muscle, was expected to miss this game and is listed as questionable for the series.