Saturday, May 12, 2012
Yankees.com: Hughes extends Yanks’ run of rotation excellence
As they prepare to welcome back a fixture to their rotation, the Yankees may be discovering that their current starters can hold their own quite well.
Phil Hughes became the latest Yankees starter to impress on the team’s homestand, pitching 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a 6-2 win over Seattle on Saturday. When Andy Pettitte takes the mound Sunday in his first start since 2010, he will be in position to finish off a sweep of the Mariners.
With just one turn of the rotation, what was a major sore spot for the Yankees now looks like it could be a strength. Hughes was great today, even with the caveat that it was against the Mariners. The Yankees got help from names that have not been helping them lately (Teix, Martin and newcomer Jayson Nix) and one that has been really hot recently (Raul Ibanez, who might actually be a Yankee come August).
As the recap notes, Pettitte returns tomorrow as the Yankees look for the sweep. Let’s hope Pettitte’s velocity is no longer an issue (or at least let him be such a crafty veteran that 85 MPH fastballs won’t hurt him).
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