NEW YORK -- Chien-Ming Wang appears to be the Yankees' likely starting pitcher Monday night if New York forces its series against the Cleveland Indians to a fourth game.
Yankees manager Joe Torre said Saturday that Mike Mussina would be available in relief on Sunday night should Roger Clemens falter. Mussina also would have followed Luis Vizcaino had Friday's 2-1, 11-inning loss gone much longer.
Wang has started on less than four days' rest just once, allowing one hit in seven innings to beat the Orioles on June 6 last year. That outing came three days after he got the final two outs and a save in a 10-inning win at Baltimore.
Wang's sinker was up against Cleveland in the series opener, when he matched his career high by allowing eight runs in a 12-3 loss.
Pitching Wang in Game 4 lines up Andy Pettitte to pitch a potential fifth game. Clemens joked about the way his buddy pitched out of trouble to throw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 2.
"I told Andy he looked great from the stretch since he was in it all night," Clemens said.
Pettitte has a $16 million player option for next year and will need to speak with his family before deciding whether to exercise it. The status of Torre, in the final year of his contract, also will play a part in his decision.
"That definitely would be something that I would factor in," Pettitte said.
Cleveland manager Eric Wedge isn't thinking of bringing C.C. Sabathia back on short rest for Game 4, opting to use Paul Byrd. Sabathia threw 114 pitches over five innings in the opener and is scheduled to pitch Game 5 -- or the AL championship series opener.
"You're talking about taking a viable risk if you're bringing somebody back on three days' rest," Wedge said. "I believe in all our guys. I've got a tremendous amount of confidence in what they're trying to do. I respect the game too much to try to shortchange any of that."
Shilling for A-Rod
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who's had a lot of postseason success, came to the defense of Alex Rodriguez, who hasn't.
Rodriguez hit .314 with 54 homers and 156 RBI in the regular season, but he's 0-for-6 so far in the New York Yankees' AL playoff series against Cleveland. Since Game 4 of the 2004 AL championship series against Boston, he is 5-for-52 with one homer and two RBI in the postseason.
"Look at what Alex has done this year in New York," Schilling said Saturday. "One of the single best seasons in the history of the game. And the media couldn't wait -- couldn't wait -- for six at-bats. He's 0-for-6. They had three hits yesterday (as a team).
"The focal point of the New York media is that Alex has screwed it up again. We know as players that's not how it works."
Schilling is 8-2 with a 2.06 ERA in the postseason during his career, which included a World Series co-MVP with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and his legendary bloody sock performances in Boston's '04 title run.
"I think one of the main ingredients to being good at this time of the year is part of your internal makeup," he said. "I'm not afraid to make mistakes. Not afraid to fail. I've always wanted to be great on this stage, because the postseason is just so different in how I think I perceive it, how people look at it."
Ready to go
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is expected to play Sunday in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Angels even though he banged up his shoulder Friday night.
"He's fine," manager Terry Francona said Saturday. "It's not something that will get in the way of him playing, which is great from our standpoint. I think we all expected him to be a little more tender than he was."
Pedroia grimaced in pain after diving for a grounder in the second inning of a 6-3 victory in Game 2 that gave Boston a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series. But the rookie remained in the game and got his first postseason hit with a fifth-inning double.
After a long flight to the West Coast, Pedroia took part in Saturday's optional workout and said he felt fine.
