Which Mussina Will Indians Face Today?

The Baltimore Orioles received matching 6 2/3-inning performances from starting pitchers David Wells and Scott Erickson in the first two games, and now they go for a three-game sweep with 19-game winner Mike Mussina pitching Game 3 today at Jacobs Field in Cleveland.

The Indians hammered Mussina twice during the regular season. He was 0-2 with a 14.81 earned-run average against them.

“The times I pitched against them I wasn’t throwing well,” said Mussina, 2-6 with a 5.51 ERA in his career against Cleveland. “I’m throwing better now. Psychologically, I feel better. Sometimes, that’s half the game itself.”

Mussina’s opposite number is Cleveland right-hander Jack McDowell in a matchup of former Stanford aces.

“I’m not going to get too emotional about it, but I’m probably going to be a little nervous about it because it is a big game and it’s in Cleveland,” Mussina said. “I hope I do well.”

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Cleveland left fielder Albert Belle hit a major league-leading 50 homers in 1995 and had 48 this year. But he has five home runs with 10 RBIs in 53 playoff at-bats. His postseason average is only .226--12 for 53, including one for seven in this series--compared to a lifetime average of .295 during the regular season.

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Only three teams--Milwaukee, which came from behind to beat the Angels in 1982; San Diego in 1984 and Seattle last year--have rallied to win a best-of-five series after trailing, 2-0. . . . Cleveland’s Charles Nagy, who lost in Game 1 Tuesday, and Wells, Tuesday’s winner, will pitch again if Game 4 is necessary Saturday.