(Courtesy of the AP)
The first time through the starting rotation hasn't exactly gone the way the Yankees planned or hoped for this season. CC Sabathia looked very ordinary on Opening Day, Hiroki Kuroda wasn't sharp before leaving with injury, and Ivan Nova looked very similar to what he was last season when he was the worst pitcher on the staff. Andy Pettitte was the lone beacon of light, and yesterday Phil Hughes returned from his bulging disk to take his spot in the rotation and look to join Andy on the positive side of the pitching ledger.
Game Notes:
-It didn't take long for the offense to get going, with a Vernon Wells solo HR in the top of the 2nd tying the game at 1. The Yanks got 2 more XBH in the inning, but thanks to Brennan Boesch getting thrown out at the plate they only had the 1 run to show for it.
- Hughes had the same problem that Nova did before him. His stuff was there, but his command in the zone was iffy at best. He didn't walk a batter through 4 innings, but did give up 5 hits.
- It call came apart for Hughes in the bottom of the 5th, when he had already thrown 75 pitches. He gave up a leadoff single to Austin Jackson, a double to Torii Hunter, and a single to Miguel Cabrera to make it 3-1 Detroit and he was done.
- Another great scoring opportunity came in the top of the 6th. Max Scherzer and his replacement Al Albuquerque walked 4 batters, and a couple big RBI singles by Hafner and Overbay made it a 5-4 game
- .For a second straight day, however, the Yankee bullpen was a huge letdown. Boone Logan, David Phelps, and Joba Chamberlain combined to allow 4 more runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in 4 IP.
Also for a second straight day, the offense went down quietly in the late innings. They put a few more runners on base than Friday, but still came up scoreless in the final 3 innings.
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