(That swing doesn't suck. Courtesy of The AP)
Weather looked like it was going to be a factor in last night's game from the get go, and it was a little bit early, but the Yankees found out before the game that Mark Teixeira wasn't going to be. The re-emergence of his wrist inflammation has to be a concern for the Yankees, and as they have for most of this season, they found themselves in a shorthanded situation. But as has happened most of the time this season, the rest of the lineup stepped up without one of their big pieces and got the job done to support a pretty darn good Phil Hughes, who had one bad inning in an otherwise dominant start.
Game Notes:
- Franklin Morales didn't get off to the start he wanted, giving up 3 solo HR in the first 2 innings. Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Russell Martin all teed him up to make it 3-0 Yanks.
- Hughes got off to a great start through the first 2 innings, but it came off the rails quickly after he threw a ball away in the 3rd. To a certain degree, I can understand him getting rattled because that was an AWFUL throw. It put runners on the corners with no outs and ended with Dustin Pedrooyyyyahhhh hitting a 3-run homer to put Bahhston on top 4-3.
- The Captain continued to rake from the leadoff spot, hitting a 1-out homer in the bottom of the 5th to tie the game up at 4-4 and give him an even 250 for his career. Impressively, it was on an inside fastball that he turned on and smoked into the left field bleachers.
- To his credit, Hughes shook off the bad 3rd inning, got it together, and worked through the next 4 innings without issue. He gave up just 2 hits, got 5 of his last 6 outs on the ground, and got a boost from Jayson Nix's 6th inning single that gave the Yankees the lead back.
- One of Hughes' problems lately has been predictability in his pitch selection. He has gotten away from his changeup, but he threw it a lot last night (29 times out of 106 pitches) and it was very effective to righties.
- Swish gave the Yankees their first run in the 1st and he gave them their last in the 7th on his second solo homer of the night. He hit one from each side of the plate and is really starting to look locked in from each side.
- Hughes did the job through 7, and D-Rob and Sour Puss worked the 8th and 9th with relative ease to secure the win. 1 down, 2 to go to end the Fraud Sawx's season.
F*ck Yeahs:
- Swish: 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 LOB. I've always liked Swish in the 2-spot in the lineup, and after a slow start he's really starting to pick it up since getting put there.
- C-Grand: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K. Nice night for C-Grand, who needed one with the slump he's in. If Teix is going to have to miss some more time with his wrist, the Yanks need Curtis to get it together and be a productive presence in the middle of the lineup.
- Hughes: 7 IP, 4 H, 4 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, W. All 4 runs were technically unearned because of the error, but since it was Hughes' error they kinda were earned. In either case, Hughes was very good last night. Take away that bad inning after the throwaway and Hughes threw 6 2-hit, shutout innings against a team who's lit him up before. His commitment to his changeup was also a nice change of pace. That's good work.
Oh Nos:
- Cano: 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB. Not often you find this guy in this section. Neck must still be bothering him.
Next Up:
The second game of this series is this afternoon, and with any luck I won't get stuck with some stupid regional game on FOX so I can see it. David Phelps takes the hill for the Yankees with a chance to make a big statement on a big stage. Jon Lester will probably just be trying to not give up double-digit runs before being taken out.
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