The Yankees seek a season-high fourth straight victory Saturday afternoon when they continue a three-game series against the slumping Mariners.

Since a 12-2 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday capped a four-game losing streak and dropped them a season-worst five games under .500, the Yankees (23-25) have responded by outscoring opponents 23-3 during three consecutive wins.

The latest victory was a 13-2 rout of the Mariners in Friday's series opener as Shelley Duncan and Robinson Cano each drove in three runs in support of Andy Pettitte.

"That gives us a feeling of what we're capable of doing, what we need to do and that we can do it," Duncan said. "That confidence, I think it's really building."

The Yankees have won all four meetings this season against the Mariners (18-31), outscoring them 32-6. New York has averaged 9.0 runs during six straight wins in the series.

Manager Joe Girardi missed Friday's win, serving a one-game suspension stemming from an argument Thursday in which he kicked his hat and dirt went on an umpire.

"It feels like old times. It feels like we're starting to come around," bench coach Rob Thomson said. "Hopefully, this thing keeps going and we can kind of ride this wave for a while."

The Mariners, a team with high expectations entering this season, have allowed 43 runs during a four-game losing streak - nine charged to ace Erik Bedard on Friday.

Seattle has lost 17 of 22 overall, and 11 of its last 12 road games.

"We're struggling in all aspects of our game. It's a difficult time and it's ugly," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "It's extremely ugly, and it's very frustrating. And if you don't feel the hurt, you're not a competitor."

At least McLaren wasn't around long enough to see another poor performance from his team. He was ejected in the second inning after arguing a called third strike against Ichiro Suzuki.

Mike Mussina (6-4, 4.11 ERA) will try to keep the Yankees hot as he hopes to rebound from a disappointing outing. After pitching effectively in five consecutive starts, the veteran right-hander retired only two batters and allowed a season-high seven runs - only one earned - and five hits in Tuesday's 12-2 loss to the Orioles.

Mussina limited the Mariners to one run over six innings in a 6-1 victory on May 3 as he improved to 7-0 with a 2.95 ERA in his last nine starts against them. He is 18-5 with a 3.66 ERA in 27 starts against Seattle.

Carlos Silva (3-3, 4.91) moves up one day to start for the Mariners in place of Felix Hernandez, who was scratched with soreness in his right leg.

Silva dropped to 0-3 in his last six starts with a 12-8 loss at Detroit on Tuesday. He allowed seven runs and nine hits in four innings, remaining winless since April 17.

The right-hander had his worst outing of the season in an 8-2 loss at Yankee Stadium on May 4, yielding eight runs and 11 hits in three innings. He is 1-3 with a 9.62 ERA in five career starts against New York.

Several Yankees have enjoyed great success against Silva. Bobby Abreu is 8-for-10, Derek Jeter is 7-for-11 and Cano is 3-for-9 with three home runs.