Hughes Masterful in Yankees Win

Phil Hughes is the story today for the Yankees Hughes pitched eight shutout innings, throwing 117 pitches (81 strikes). He struck out nine batters to match his season high which he set last Sunday against the Blue Jays. However, in today's game Hughes stuck around long enough to pitch an all-around dominant game. Last week Hughes was good but he did not have economical innings, which has been his Achilles' heel throughout his young career as a starting pitcher. If the Yankees can get what Hughes gave them today, at least ten more times this season then the Yankees will be in great position to make the postseason. Hughes
has always been a wildcard for the Yankees, in that he has the ability to be a number two starter but falls back when he allows too many home runs and cannot pitch past the sixth inning. Jorge Posada called Hughes "little Roger" early in his career. The fans have yet to see Hughes pitch like Clemens but today is one time when you can understand what Posada was talking about. His fastball reached 95 MPH today and he had countless swings and misses by a potent A's lineup. The A's entered the game leading the majors in runs and extra base hits. Hughes' ability to curb the offense today showed what Hughes has hidden in his arsenal, but does not display very often.

The offense stood behind Hughes today, clubbing two solo home runs followed by a couple of run scoring singles by Hafner and Gardner. Chris Stewart hit his second home run of the season, and it was not a cheap long ball. The ball made it about ten to fifteen rows into the lower deck in left field. Lyle Overbay opened the fifth inning against Bartolo Colon by clubbing the first pitch he saw deep to right field, his fifth home run of the year. Kudos to the Yankees all around in this afternoon's win. They received pitching by Hughes and power by a couple of guys who aren't known as home run hitters. This is the type of win that makes a fan feel good about their team, and I'm sure the Yankees have to be feeling good right now, too.

In tomorrow's rubber game, Andy Pettitte will try to bounce back after an awful outing against the Astros on Tuesday. Young Dan Straily will make the start for the Athletics, who want to get out of Yankee Stadium with a series win. Pettitte should make it tough for the A's to accomplish this, as he typically bounces back after bad starts.