Mussina, Yankees beat Blue Jays 4-1

Mike Mussina pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning in his return to the rotation and the New York Yankees won their seventh straight game, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Wednesday night.

The Yankees held their four-game lead over Detroit in the AL wild-card race. They trail Boston by five games in the AL East.

Mussina (9-10) was dropped from the Yankees rotation late last month after allowing 19 earned runs over 9 2-3 innings in three straight losses.

With Roger Clemens nursing a sore elbow, Mussina made his first start since Aug. 27 and gave up five singles in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out one, walked three and won for the first time since Aug. 11 at Cleveland.

Mussina improved to 22-11 in 40 career starts against Toronto, the team he's beaten the most in his career. The Blue Jays lost their fifth in a row overall.

Mussina left after Frank Thomas walked and Matt Stairs singled. Edwar Ramirez relieved and, after loading the bases with a walk to Aaron Hill, retired Lyle Overbay on a fly ball to end the sixth.

Yankees rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain worked a perfect seventh, then gave up the first run of his major league career in the eighth - it was unearned after third baseman Alex Rodriguez made a wild throw on Hill's routine, two-out grounder.

Chamberlain had not allowed a run in 14 1-3 innings over 11 appearances.

Mariano Rivera replaced Chamberlain and gave up an infield single to Lyle Overbay, then struck out Gregg Zaun to end the inning. Rivera closed it out in the ninth for his 26th save in 29 opportunities.

New York took a 2-0 lead in the first against Dustin McGowan (10-9) after Bobby Abreu and Rodriguez walked. A wild pitch scored the first run and Hideki Matsui hit an RBI double.

The Yankees scored two more in the fourth when Matsui walked, stole second and went to third on a single by Jorge Posada. Jason Giambi was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Robinson Cano, who hit a two-run single.

McGowan allowed four runs on three hits in five innings. He lost for the first time in three starts.

The Yankees almost scored again in the ninth. With two outs and a runner on second, Johnny Damon hit a sinking liner that center fielder Vernon Wells charged. Replays clearly showed Wells trapped it on one bounce, but third-base umpire and crew chief Tim Tschida ruled it a catch.

Notes:@ The Yankees have won eight of their last 10 against Toronto. ... Blue Jays 3B Troy Glaus will undergo season-ending surgery next week to repair a nerve in his left foot. He's expected to be healthy in time for spring training. ... The Yankees are 40-19 since the All-Star break, the best record in the major leagues.