"This is just about as good as I can pitch," said Mussina, who threw his first shutout for the New York Yankees in a 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Mike Mussina allows only one Twin to reach base after the second inning.(AP)

Mussina (2-3) got his first win in five starts and picked up his 16th career shutout. His last one also came against Twins -- a one-hitter on Aug. 1 -- as Mussina improved to 17-2 vs. Minnesota.

"We've looked at the tapes, we've stood on our heads," said Minnesota manager Tom Kelly, who has watched all 17 wins. "Nothing works."

Mussina, who signed an $88.5 million, six-year deal with New York in the offseason, struck out a season-high 10 and walked none as he avoided losing a career-high fourth straight game.

Mussina, who had been 0-3 with a 6.29 ERA in his previous four outings, insisted he wasn't bothered by the slow start.

"I did that last year," said Mussina, winless in his first five outings during a 11-15 season with Baltimore in 2000. "Actually, I thought I pitched pretty well in my first five starts this year."

Only one Twin reached base after the second inning -- Doug Mientkiewicz's leadoff single in the fifth -- and Minnesota didn't get a runner past second base.

"He can make you look foolish in a heartbeat," Mientkiewicz said. "If he's on, you're dead. I think we were lucky to get three hits. You're almost better going up there flat brain-dead."

Yankees manager Joe Torre said Mussina's night was especially enjoyable for his team after Brad Radke pitched a six-hit complete game in Minnesota's 2-1 win Monday night and spoiled Andy Pettitte's three-hitter.

"He was just dominant tonight," Torre said. "It's a reverse of what Radke did to us last night."

David Justice homered against Eric Milton (3-2) in the sixth inning -- his first hit in 10 at-bats against Milton -- and Bernie Williams, batting second, hit an RBI single in the second.

Milton, a former Yankees first-round draft pick who still has the team's logo tattooed on his left shoulder, was acquired in 1998 in the Chuck Knoblauch trade. He gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings. Milton's three walks were his highest total in 12 starts, dating to Aug. 20

Milton has made eight straight quality starts, including his final two outings of 2000. Minnesota (18-7) has gotten quality starts in 19 of its 25 games.

The Twins (18-7) have continued to get solid starting pitching and defense, but their offense has cooled considerably after an unexpectedly fast start.

The Twins have only six hits in the first two games of the series, winning the opener 2-1 on Monday night despite getting just three hits. Milton has been given five hits and no runs in his last two starts. Boston's Hideo Nomo took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against him last Wednesday.

"There's not much I can do," Milton said. "Sometimes you lose 2-0, sometimes you win 10-5. They fall when they fall. That's baseball. It's the second straight game I've got to tip my hat to the opposition."

Notes

• Torre shuffled his lineup Tuesday, resting Paul O'Neill for the first time and sliding Derek Jeter into O'Neill's third spot. Williams, who had one hit in his last 17 at-bats entering the game, batted second and had two hits.
• Jorge Posada hit RBI singles in the seventh and ninth innings for New York.
• Mientkiewicz extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with a single in the fifth.
• Alfonso Soriano, who tied a career high with four hits, stole his eighth base in the eighth inning. The Yankees lead the majors with 33 steals.
• Fans in the Metrodome's left-field seats, who threw quarters at Knoblauch Monday night and continued to boo him heartily Tuesday, interrupted the game three times by throwing beach balls on the field. Knoblauch wasn't about to retrieve any of them. "I was born at night, but I wasn't born last night," he joked. "I wasn't in the mood for any beer."

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