Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Hughes Dominant as Yankee Offense Explodes in the Seventh (Postgame Notes 28 April 2009)

You may be forgiven if, in the ninth inning, you forgot that the first six innings had been a crazy good pitcher's duel.

Still, you should not forget how dominant 22-year-old Phil Hughes was-providing the Yankees with exactly what they needed.

Having lost four straight games, the Yankees really needed a win, perhaps more for the sanity of their fans than for the team itself, and with the way the offense had been performing over the past two games, it seemed like the Yankees would need an almost unhittable pitcher to have a chance.

Hughes gave them that chance.

Hughes had pretty much just one shaky inning, when the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs, but escaped that inning without allowing a run-and the ability to do that is a staunch difference from last year in which the flood gates would have (likely) opened.

Meanwhile, the Yankee offense didn't do much of anything while Edwin Jackson was in the game.

Take Jackson out in the 7th, however, and the Yankees fully exploited the weak underbelly of the Tigers' kittenpen (uh, it's certainly not a bullpen...)

The statement du jour came off of José Molina's bat. Probably the least likely in the line up to hit a home run (Gardner could give him a run for his money, although running isn't really fair to Molina), Molina cranked a grand slam out to left center and the Yankees went up 10-0.

Mark Melancon pitched just one inning today, but the usual caveat of his multiple inning minor league appearances held: he only threw 10 pitches.

Now, the Yankees have a chance to take two out of three in Detroit, and tomorrow's Joba-Porcello match up should be more than worth the wait.