Phil Hughes got off to an inauspicious start tonight in Toronto, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs (only 1 earned) in his first two innings of work. From there, he cruised,
as did the Bombers. Hughes' final line: 6 IP, 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 K, 1 earned run, 1 win. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but Hughes again didn't utilize a third pitch. I counted 2 change-ups thrown all night, one was roped for double by Lyle Overbay in the second. On the other hand, Hughes did have his best fastball since his near no-no, and he battled through two jams early in the game.
The offense was provided mainly by the Giambino, who hit an opposite-field grand slam to blow the game wide open. That's six straight for the Bombers, 4 straight on the road, and they remain 5 games behind the Sox. Boston coughed up 10 runs to the lowly D-Rays, but managed to come back from a 7-run deficit to win the game. The Gagne/Joba graphic is updated to reflect tonight's Boston game. Apparently, the Sox have finally found a role for the roidhead, he came in to pitch the ninth with a 7-run lead and promptly gave up two hits and a run.
Letter to the Skipper:
Player of The Game: Johnny Damon, 3 for 5, 1 run, 2 RBI, and a great catch early in the game that saved Hughes' bacon.
Enjoy yourselves tonight, Yankee fans. I have a terrible feeling that the winning streak is in serious jeopardy come tomorrow.
how bout that ross ohlendorf???
i was watching from the crappy gamecast thing on my computer at school and it was jus 98 mph, 97 mph, and the occasional slider (or change up? hard to tell on gamecast).
I say keep him in the post season. he's got to be better than bruney...
oh yeah one last thing--gamecast was showing hughes fastball at times between 93-96. Is that just some hopped up gun, or is it the same guy who was throwin 89-91 before?
The YES gun had Hughes hitting 93 consistently throughout, and he never dipped below 90. That gun usually has him between 88 and 91, so I think he was definitely throwing harder. He much more movement on his fastball too. Too much in some cases, it was running back over the plate.
This kid is going to be good. He's learning how to pitch when he doesn't have his best stuff right now (I think the hamstring injury is still lingering in his mind), when he has his curve working, he's going to be nearly un-hittable. When he can mix in the change, for strikes, he's going to be an ace.
Ohlendorf was impressive, but his AAA stats really scare me. If they wanted to, they could add him to the playoff roster. I believe they can add two guys who weren't up before Sept. 1 because Phillips and Pavano are on the 60-day D.L. You'd think one of those spots is probably reserved for Kennedy.