Just Rolling Along

The Yankees entered Washington with a six game winning streak. The Nationals entered tonight with one of their own. One team would have to surrender that winning streak. The Yankees continued their in style, with strong pitching and hits with runners in scoring position. This was a collective victory for the club. Early on, Gio Gonzalez held the Yankees to two runs while trailing by one run. The Yankees elevated his pitch count and got him out of the game after a Jones singled to lead off the seventh inning. After Gonzalez was out, the Yankees hammered the bullpen for five additional runs, one of which was charged to Gio Gonzalez. Just when you thought they would win a game without hitting a home run, Curtis Granderson nullifies that notion with a solo shot to cap off the Yankees scoring in the eighth inning with two outs. Granderson now has 20 runs runs and trails only Josh Hamilton and Adam Dunn who both have 22 long balls. The Yankees went 4-8 with runners in scoring position, which is better than they have done all year.

Phil Hughes came into tonight's game knowing that he had little wiggle room against Gio Gonzalez who is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Hughes lasted six innings and gave up only one run against a hefty lineup that featured phenom Bryce Harper. This is the first start for Hughes where he did not surrender a home run to the opposing lineup. That's a big step forward for a fly ball pitcher who started the year terribly. He also notched nine strikeouts tonight, topping his eight that he got against Detroit in his complete game. David Robertson went on to close the game, making his first appearance since May 11th when he was placed on the DL. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out the final batter of the game.

Tomorrow, veteran Andy Pettitte goes up against Jordan Zimmermann as the Yankees try to stretch their winning streak to eight games. The two pitchers have almost an identical ERA as they have both had solid years. Pettitte will be making his first start as a 40 year old tomorrow afternoon.