Phil Hughes had one of the best starts of his major-league career tonight, going eight innings, striking out six (71 percent of his pitches were for strikes) and giving up two earned runs. The eight innings were a career-high.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Hughes ended 2007 on a high note as well. His best start post-injury last year was his last start on Sept. 27 when he gave up one earned run in seven innings against the-then Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He then pitched well in relief against the Indians in the ALDS. But we know how he began this year.
On the other hand, this does Yankees fans a good last impression of Hughes heading into the off-season. The velocity is still a question mark (he hit 92 mph only twice according to MLB Gameday), but the fact that he was able to get through eight innings in 100 pitches is certainly a positive.
Hopefully he'll get off to a better start next season, as he has another year of experience and adversity under his belt.
AP Photo
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Hughes finally pitches well
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3 comments:
Barring any Pavano-esque injuries in the time ahead I expect nothing but the best from Hughes next season. He now has the time to refocus and refine his stuff that can only get better with time.
He ended his season in a way that brings back the reason why he is going to be the anchor of the rotation's future. I guess I'm a little optimistic right now, but I liked what he had tonight. At least I liked what I heard through Sterling's play-by-play commentary.
Yeah, I didn't watch the game either, so I don't know how he REALLY looked. I can't complain about the results, however. Hopefully he can take this performance with him to Arizona this fall and into next season. If they can get him to be a quality starter while he's relatively cheap, that would be huge.
I watched the game and he looked really good. No more nibbling and getting behind in pitch counts. He threw strikes and had an impressive curve ball. Hopefully he can build on his performance for next year.
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