TOKYO -- The 2004 Major League Baseball season begins with an international flavor, as the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays start a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday.
These games mark the second time Major League Baseball has played regular season contests in Japan. The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets opened the 2000 campaign with a two-game set at the Tokyo Dome. This will also be the fourth time in the last six years the regular season has started outside the continental United States or Canada.
Righthander Mike Mussina, left as the No. 1 man atop a new-look Yankee rotation, will be on the hill in the season opener. The Devil Rays will counter with right-hander Victor Zambrano.
The 35-year-old Mussina is coming off another spectacular season, as he went 17-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 2003. Mussina has logged double-digit victories in 12 consecutive years and is the only pitcher in the majors to pitch at least 200 innings in each of the last nine seasons. This will be his seventh Opening Day assignment and first since getting the nod for Baltimore in 2000. He is 3-2 in those previous openers.
A victory in this game would mark the 200th in Mussina's major league career and he would become the 100th pitcher to accomplish the feat. Mussina has dominated Tampa Bay in his career, going 11-3 in 19 starts.
The 28-year-old Zambrano went 12-10 with a 4.21 ERA last year. This marks his fourth season in the majors. Zambrano, who is at the top of Lou Piniella's rotation, went 8-2 during a stretch in the middle of last season. He is 2-3 in 16 games (7 starts) lifetime against the Yankees.
Mussina is -240 over Zambrano - 9.5 UNDER.
wil.
These games mark the second time Major League Baseball has played regular season contests in Japan. The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets opened the 2000 campaign with a two-game set at the Tokyo Dome. This will also be the fourth time in the last six years the regular season has started outside the continental United States or Canada.
Righthander Mike Mussina, left as the No. 1 man atop a new-look Yankee rotation, will be on the hill in the season opener. The Devil Rays will counter with right-hander Victor Zambrano.
The 35-year-old Mussina is coming off another spectacular season, as he went 17-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 2003. Mussina has logged double-digit victories in 12 consecutive years and is the only pitcher in the majors to pitch at least 200 innings in each of the last nine seasons. This will be his seventh Opening Day assignment and first since getting the nod for Baltimore in 2000. He is 3-2 in those previous openers.
A victory in this game would mark the 200th in Mussina's major league career and he would become the 100th pitcher to accomplish the feat. Mussina has dominated Tampa Bay in his career, going 11-3 in 19 starts.
The 28-year-old Zambrano went 12-10 with a 4.21 ERA last year. This marks his fourth season in the majors. Zambrano, who is at the top of Lou Piniella's rotation, went 8-2 during a stretch in the middle of last season. He is 2-3 in 16 games (7 starts) lifetime against the Yankees.
Mussina is -240 over Zambrano - 9.5 UNDER.
wil.
