Bronx, N.Y., June 1, 2014 — The only classy thing to do following Sunday’s Yankee ninth-inning meltdown in a 7-2 loss to the visiting Twins is to give a tip of the cap to ex-Pinstriper Phil Hughes, who relied on his plus fastball to dominate the Yankees with 100 pitches through eight innings. One year ago on this day, Phil failed to survive the fifth inning in an 11-1 loss to the Red Sox in the Stadium, but his career has been reborn in Minnesota, and it is largely his work that has kept the Twins in the second-place mix in the AL Central behind the Tigers.
Few trudging from the Stadium post-game would admit it, but there was good news on the Yankee side of things too. The middle and setup relief of Dellin Betances and Adam Warren continued to be stellar, with Betances in particular wowing the Bat Day crowd by striking out five of six working the sixth and seventh innings. Featuring a devastating curve and 97- and 98-mph heat, Dellin threw 18 of 22 pitches for strikes, and visitor bats were able to come in contact with just three of them. It was a jaw-dropping performance.
But Chase Whitley, an emergency callup from AAA a few weeks ago, may have had his best start as well. Easily escaping a leadoff single and hit by pitch starting the second, he was reached for a third-inning run on two singles, but the two-hopper into left by Aaron Hicks that started the mini-rally, at least, should have been reached by Derek Jeter. And Whitley followed up that frame by striking out the side in the fourth, around another hard-luck single, this one bounced off the glove of Yangervis Solarte at third base.
Following a game where he ran into sixth-inning trouble, and up 2-1 due to a Yankee rally in the fourth, Chase was pulled after five innings, but he was pitching well. The 56/27 strikes/balls ratio was very good, as was the 13 of 21 first-pitch strikes. But he was dealing, with seven ground-ball outs and six strike outs (five swinging). Topping out at an occasional 93 mph on his throws, he doesn’t look to overpower hitters, but he slipped 14 pitches past swinging Minnesota bats while in there. In hindsight, this game may have ended better for the Yanks if Chase got the ball to start the sixth.
Hughes, on the other hand, was in control throughout, except for a three-batter stretch starting the fourth. He’s been effective in the past featuring heat, but Yankee days often involved the need to develop a repertoire to go with it. Phil has a good curve, but his success this year has apparently been built on his fastball, with only the occasional alteration to the menu. The attempt to develop a change in New York was a disaster, and he’s had middling success with a slider. Sunday’s success was built almost entirely on heat, with a few cut fastballs mixed in late. He only threw seven or eight curves all day; the first was driven to deep right by Solarte in the second following Phil’s first of two walks of the day.
But effective hard stuff notwithstanding, Brett Gardner poked a 1-2 fastball leading off the fourth off the wall in right center, which he ran into a triple. Three pitches later Jeter scored him with a single to right, and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a one-base hit to left. After a walk and an out, Ichiro Suzuki delivered run No. 2 with a sac fly. The Yankee onslaught, however, was over as quickly as it had begun. Phil retired 15 of 15 to follow that walk, but was in line to lose until his teammates reached David Robertson and two other relievers for a six-run ninth, with ex-Yank Eduardo Nunez joining the fun with a two-run double.
The bullpen implosion was a rarity for the 2014 Yanks, and stood out when compared with the superb Betances/Warren work. But even giving Hughes credit for a continuing excellent season, the disappearing offense has been seen before, even if not this clearly. Nine up, nine down (including a walk removed on a dp), three straight hits leading to two runs, then 18 up, 18 down, including a weak three-batter ninth.
That’s hard to understand, or to explain. Phil’s bête noir in New York was the home run, and the big three Yankee threats in that respect are the injured Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran, and an underperforming Alfonso Soriano. But why the three-hit, two-run outburst in the middle of so much failure? I have no answer, but I tip my cap to Hughes. At least for one more 2014 day, he was
Philphulled
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!