BOSTON – The moment of the night for Phil Hughes came in the bottom of the sixth inning.
With the lead 9-1, David Ortiz singled to center to make the score 9-2.
Having a lead of that nature would allow most pitchers to relax and lose concentration.
Not Hughes.
Through his first four starts (all wins, no losses) of the year, he has been incredibly impressive in dominating fashion, limiting opponents to only 10 hits over his first 25 innings with opponents hitting a paltry .122.
This game was to be a measuring stick. The other games simply a feeling out process. Here he was on the mound at Fenway Park, against the Red Sox in another edition of “The Rivalry”.
What’s more, it was the “new and improved” Phil Hughes taking the mound to face the Red Sox.
This was not some wide-eyed kid seeing the bright lights for the first time. The young right-hander pitched several times in the late innings in this park last year during the Yankees championship run.
Now, here he was, bigger, stronger, more mature and confident than ever before ready to imprint himself of this family feud.
When you glance at Hughes on the mound, you would think that he is playing poker with the face that he has.
You can never tell if he is winning or losing because he is the ultimate sign of calm.
Only the great pitchers have this trait. You can never tell if the other team is flustering them or not because you cannot read their body language.
For Hughes, it never used to be this way.
When he first came up to the majors, he showed the same signs, but you could also see when things were bothering him.
The Yankees gave him a starting role in the rotation the next year that he did not have to earn. Whether it was lack of preparation or simply youth and lack of maturity, he was not the same pitcher who in his second major league start in 2007 flirted with a no-hitter before blowing out his hamstring in Texas. Or the same man coming in relief of Roger Clemens in Game 3 of the Division Series with the Yankees season on the line and slamming the door on the Cleveland Indians.
Here Hughes was now, on the mound going head-to-head with Josh Beckett in the first of this weekend series. Early on, Beckett had his good stuff, handcuffed Yankee hitters en route to five strikeouts over the first three innings.
It was a challenge that he was up for, relishing the opportunity on the proverbial “big stage”.
Hughes held the Red Sox hitless through his first three and when the Yankees finally broke through in the fourth on Nick Swisher’s three-run homer, the game was in his control.
Boston got a run in the fourth after two straight hard hit balls and a sacrifice fly by Ortiz. Instead of allowing the inning to drag on, he ended it by striking out Adrian Beltre with a high fastball tailing away for the final out of the inning. In the fifth, the Red Sox mounted a two-out rally on successive singles, but he got Dustin Pedroia to pop out to end the inning.
The Yankees chased Beckett from the game with a six-run sixth and with Hughes in line for the win, it was up to him to carry it home.
In Fenway Park, no lead is safe and you are always a few bad pitches away from the home team being back in the game.
With Adrian Beltre up, Hughes would bear down. After a first pitch ball, Beltre was late on a fastball and cutter, fouling them away. The next pitch was a cutter that painted the inside corner.
Strike three. Beltre down looking.
The cutter, a pitch Hughes developed last year while in the bullpen now a major part of his arsenal.
Adding that to the plus-fastball and curveball that he already has in addition to the grow of his changeup makes him a developing four-pitch pitcher on track to finally fulfilling the promise the Yankees have always had for him.
Jeremy Hermida was next up. The count went to 2-2. Hughes knew what he wanted to throw and was ready to go. In previous starts, he would not have the same confidence that he exudes now. The time in the bullpen that he spent last year has proved invaluable to his development. He now has conviction and knows what he wants to do whenever he wants to do it.
That in lies the difference right now between Hughes and the antithesis of that being Javier Vazquez. Mentally, Hughes has his plan, trusts his stuff and shows tremendous mental toughness to never crack.
With the count 2-2, Hughes and catcher Francisco Cervelli agreed on throwing a cutter away in hopes that Hermida would chase it.
The pitch painted the outside corner with Hermida not taking a hack.
Strike three. Hermida down looking.
It was the Red Sox best chance to make a dent in this game and they couldn’t get any more than the one run Hughes gave back to them.
Hughes’ 101st and final pitch of his evening was to Marco Scutaro in the seventh. The Red Sox shortstop would hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
At that point, you see the young Yankee let out just a little bit of emotion as the ball landed in Mark Teixeira’s glove, but not a lot.
Seven strong innings giving up only two runs in a Yankees win.
For Phil Hughes, it was his turn to announce to the baseball world that he has arrived.
No comments:
Post a Comment