Minnesota Twins 4 — New York Yankees 1
Home runs were the only flaw for Hughes in today’s 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Through the first six innings, Hughes was looking great. He caught Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau looking at strike three to end the first inning. In the second inning, he gave up a solo home run to third baseman Trevor Plouffe but would also strikeout the side. Through six innings, Phil Hughes had nine strikeouts and had allowed just one run on a home run.
The Yankees offense was hard to find again. After Ichiro Suzuki hit a double in the first inning, Robinson Cano singled to center field for the first run of the game. That’s it.
The Yankees had opportunities but never seized them. In the fourth inning, Vernon Wells would reach third base with two outs and Zoilo Almonte would walk. But Almonte would be caught stealing second base to end the threat. In the seventh inning, Travis Hafner would come in as a pinch-hitter and hit a double with one out. Austin Romine and Brett Gardner grounded out and the second opportunity would go wasted.
So one run by Phil Hughes doesn’t seem too bad. But his day was not done. He would come out for the seventh inning and the go-ahead home run by Ryan Doumit just about sealed Hughes’ fate. He would notch his 10th strikeout of the game, tying a career-high, but the third home run, a two-run home run in the eighth inning, was the proverbial “nail in the coffin.”
In 7.1 innings, Phil Hughes allowed four runs on five hits (three home runs) while walking one and striking out 10. Scraping together one run gives Yankees’ pitchers a tough job of “attempting perfection” because one bad pitch can turn the game around on them.
Win – Samuel Deduno (5-4)
Loss – Phil Hughes (4-9)
Save – Glen Perkins (21)
Notables
Twins
*Pedro Florimon – 1 for 2, R, BB, 2-Run Home Run (5) in the 8th, 2 RBI (30)
*Trevor Plouffe – 1 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (10) in the 2nd, RBI (34)
Yankees
*Robinson Cano – 1 for 4, RBI (64)
*Ichiro Suzuki – 2 for 4, R, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 51-43
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