Mussina makes his pitch for Yankees

TORONTO -- Two weeks after he was dropped from the rotation, Mike Mussina made a strong pitch to rejoin the starting five.

Mussina pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and the New York Yankees won their seventh in a row, beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1, Wednesday night.

“He was terrific,” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said. “He stayed ahead most of the night. I’m just really pleased and I know he’s happy about it.”

Mussina (9-10) was dropped from the rotation in late August after yielding 19 earned runs over 9 2/3 innings in three consecutive losses. He made one relief appearance after that, his first in a regular-season game.

“It’s a lot more satisfying today, coming out of the game, than it was those other starts,” Mussina said. “When I look back on this year, those three games are probably going to ruin my year. I’ve got to live with that and move on from it.”

Mussina, who made his first start since Aug. 27, won for the first time since Aug. 11 at Cleveland.