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NEW YORK -- It isn't a stretch to say that getting a smile out of Mike Mussina is sometimes as tough as it is to get a run off him.

The Yankees' righty is as no-nonsense as they come. He comes to work, does his job and doesn't say a whole lot before, during or after the process.

But Saturday afternoon, Mussina couldn't help but smile at the first question following his almost effortless 9-2 victory over the Red Sox.

For brief background, consider that Mussina -- a perfectionist by nature -- came one strike from a perfect game Sunday night against Boston. So in his encore performance, he retired the first five hitters before surrendering a walk. And he had a no-hitter going through three innings.

You probably know where this is headed.

Question: "Mike, did you even allow yourself to think about it a little bit after the first couple of innings, did it creep in your mind about possibly going after it again."

Mussina chuckled mildly, grinned and said, "You guys look for great stories. Every day you go out there, the game's going to be different. You're never going to have the same game twice."

But there is one thing Mussina hasn't been shy about repeating his last few times out. It's called mastery.

On this day, Mussina went six innings, allowed three hits and yielded zero earned runs while beating ex-Yankee David Cone for the second time in six days.

The man they call Moose has now thrown up goose eggs in the earned run department in his last three starts, and four times in his last five.

Even if Mussina doesn't bust out with emotion over his recent stretch of brilliance, his performance has produced great satisfaction from Yankees Manager Joe Torre.

When the Yankees were putting together their offseason wish list last winter, Torre made it no secret that Mussina was the guy he wanted most.

He was, after all, the best pitcher available. And pitching has been what this recent Yankee run of brilliance has been largely about.

Fifteen wins later, Torre obviously feels pretty secure that he had his priorities in line.

Not that it was easy for Mussina (15-11, 3.29 ERA) to get to this point. He was shelled by the Marlins (2 innings, 10 hits, 8 ER) in July, and again by the Rangers (4 innings, 9 hits, 8 ER) in August. And there were countless no-decisions and losses on nights when he pitched well and didn't get much run support.

"He's just pitching up to his capability," said Torre. "Especially when you sign a big contract, you're under that microscope. And you change teams, especially when you've only been with one team, that first move is probably the most traumatic for anybody. He's pitching the way he's capable of. This is the guy we signed. Mike Mussina is a professional."

Which is why Mussina didn't get all that worked up when his record was an unspectacular 12-11 as late as Aug. 22. Just like he isn't doing cartwheels over his recent success.

"As a pitcher, we can only control what the ball does for 60 feet, six inches," Mussina said. "That's all I can control. If I do that, prepare myself to do that and stay healthy and get deep into games and give the guys a chance, then I'm doing my job. For the most part I've done that this year. I lost some close ones earlier in the year and now I'm getting some breaks. Winning the close ones and getting some runs. "

And it is almost as if he has passed his Yankee initiation in the last few weeks, a process culminated by his memorable gem under the lights at Fenway Park.

For there was a buzz from the Yankee Stadium crowd Saturday that hasn't been present for previous Mussina starts. It was only heightened when he struck out the side in the top of the first.

"I heard (the crowd)," Mussina said. "I heard them when I went to warm up, and when I came back in. Striking out the first three guys in the first inning, I got some people fired up with that. But realistically, to think I'd even come close to last time was not even in my mind. I was just glad I was able to go out there and throw well."

Then again, that isn't exactly a new phenomenon. You'd be hard pressed to find many pitchers more reliable than Mussina the last decade. Mussina has now reached 15 wins seven times in the last 10 years, and Saturday he climbed passed the 200-inning barrier for the seventh consecutive season.

Durability and dependability -- two things that go hand in hand -- are elements he takes great pride in.

"Besides getting hit in the forehead and getting hit in the arm and a few other crazy things that have happened to me, I'm pretty pleased," Mussina said. "Two hundred (innings) is the benchmark of this generation of pitchers. To be able to go out there and get enough starts and get deep enough into games and pitch well enough to get there is satisfying. I hope I can take it much higher this year and keep going out there for 200-plus for quite a few more years."

And for the first time in quite a few, Mussina's innings odometer will extend in the month of October. When last Mussina pitched in the playoffs, he was nearly untouchable for the 1997 Orioles. But the last three years, his Baltimore teams played out the string.

So as playoff time draws near, Mussina seems to be peaking right along with his Yankees, who have extended their AL East lead to a whopping 12 games.

"He's outstanding. He's a great pitcher," marveled Cone, who was essentially replaced by Mussina in the Yankees rotation. "He's on top of his game, and he looks like he's ready for the postseason."

And if the Yankees go as far this postseason as they have the last three years, even Mussina won't be able to stop smiling.