Another rough outing for Phil Hughes in the Bronx last night. A lack of command and a couple of home runs allowed helped the LA Angels coast to a 10-2 win over the Yankees. No harm, no foul in the standings as the Rays and Red Sox both blew leads and lost.
There is concern though about Hughes' output in his last half dozen starts. The 23-yr old has allowed 26 earned runs in his last 36.1 innings, and that includes a seven inning, one run performance in his prior start.
Hughes has attributed his lack of success to a lack of command. For most of an All-Star first half, Hughes put the ball where he wanted to. Now those same pitches are staying up and opponents are hammering them.
Nick Swisher helped give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the 1st with a solo home run, but the Angels tied it up with single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings and Maicer Izturis put them ahead for good with a 2-run home run in the 4th. Mike Napoli's 2-run shot with no out in the 6th ended Hughes' night early.
It didn't help that the Yankees offense, which averaged nearly 9 runs a game in Hughes' prior starts, fell asleep after the first inning. 22-yr old right Sean O'Sullivan won his first start of the season filling for the injured Scott Kazmir. After allowing a pair of runs, hits, and walks in the 1st, O'Sullivan no-hit the Yankees for the next five innings.
The Yankees bullpen then let the game get out of hands as the Angels tacked on four more runs, including a Hideki Matsui home run, against Jonathan Albaladejo, Chan Ho Park, and Chad Gaudin.
Notes
Derek Jeter's 0-4 night left him at .268 for the season. It's his lowest batting average at this point of the season since he was hitting .278 in 2004.
CC Sabathia turns 30 today.
There is obviously going to much talk about how tainted A-Rod's 600th home run will be, and rightfully so, but USA Today also feels some money can be made off of it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment