Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hughes Sets Yankees Back

Yankees Return to the Norm in O’s Rout


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NY Yankees
0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0
5 6 1
Baltimore
0 8 1 2 0 0 0 1 X
12 16 0

WP - Eaton (2-3) LP - Hughes (1-2)

The day after Phil Hughes tossed seven shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers, local sports radio shows were inundated with callers demanding that Chien-Ming Wang be traded and/or Joba Chamberlain be sent to the bullpen. They may be rethinking that stance. Hughes had his second straight poor outing Saturday night and the Baltimore Orioles pounded the Yankees 12-5.

As well played as Friday’s game was, last night’s game was a complete debacle. Hughes’ night was done after he had recorded just five outs. The Orioles put a snowman up on the board in the second inning in one of the worst displays of baseball this side of a t-ball game. Luke Scott and Luis Montanez opened the inning with seemingly harmless singles. Then all hell broke loose.

Greg Zaun
followed with a single to right. Luke Scott was held up at third base, but Nick Swisher’s throw home couldn’t have been caught by Yao Ming standing on three ladders. To compound matters, Hughes wasn’t paying attention as he jogged to back up home plate. Scott scored easily ahead of Hughes relay throw to Francisco Cervelli for the O’s first run of the night.

Hughes hit Cesar Izturis on an 0-2 pitch to load the bases and Brian Roberts brought home the Orioles’ second run with a sac fly. A Hughes wild pitch,an Adam Jones RBI double, and Aubrey Huff’s fifth home run of the season extended the lead to 7-0. Hughes finally retired Melvin Mora for the second out of the inning, but was yanked after he put two more men aboard.

Johnny Damon
, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher homered for the Yankees, but it was way too little, too late. The Orioles added four more runs off of Edwar Ramirez and Brett Tomko, who was making his Yankees debut.

Game Notes

The Yankees are the eighth organization Brett Tomko has pitched for. He quickly indoctrinated himself into the Yankees bullpen by surrendering a home run to the first batter (Adam Jones) he faced.

Johnny Damon’s home run was his fifth in his last 10 games.

The Yankees’ pitching has a major league worst 5.88 ERA. They’ve already given up double digits in a game fives times in 30 games, and their walks and hits per inning ratio (WHIP) is the fourth worst in baseball.

Joba Chamberlain may be scratched from today’s rubber game of the series due to a popped blood vessel in his right thumb. He suffered the injury when he tossed a ball back to the infield during batting practice yesterday. Al Aceves will go in his stead if Chamberlain can’t make it. Koji Uehara, who beat the Yankees on April 8, will start for the Orioles.

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