Houston @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 12, 2010 ) Houston 3, NY Yankees 9
With $62.25 million allocated to the top four pitchers in the rotation this season alone, few thought No. 5 starter Phil Hughes would be tied for the club lead in wins for the New York Yankees.
Hughes will be looking to move back into sole possession of the team wins lead when the Yankees take on the Houston Astros on Sunday in the finale of an interleague series.
A highly touted prospect as a teenager coming up through the New York system, Hughes struggled in his first tastes of the major leagues in 2007 and 2008, combining to post a 5-7 record with a 5.15 ERA in his first 21 starts.
He struggled again as a starter at the beginning of the 2009 campaign, prompting the Yankees to switch him to the bullpen. It all came together for the young right-hander in New York ’pen, as Hughes eventually ascended to the role of Mariano Rivera’s primary setup man and became a key contributor in the run to the World Series.
Given another chance to earn a rotation slot in spring training, the 23-year-old Hughes beat out Joba Chamberlain for the No. 5 slot and hasn’t looked back.
The former first-round draft pick has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his 11 outings and ranks second behind Andy Pettitte on the staff with a 2.71 ERA. Hughes has shown strong control and an ability to keep the ball in the ballpark, allowing just four homers and 20 walks against 68 strikeouts in 69 2/3 total innings.
And while he hasn’t had much need for it, the New York offense has made sure Hughes has had plenty of support, pushing across at least eight runs in seven of his last eight outings.
That offense had little trouble Saturday as Derek Jeter homered twice and Jorge Posada added a grand slam in a five-run third inning to help the Yankees pound Houston, 9-3. They took the opener of the series as well, 4-3, on Friday night and have won five of their last six games.
The Astros began June by winning eight of 10 but have looked positively ordinary against powerful New York. Houston will have to get a better performance out of a starting pitcher if they hope to avoid a sweep, as both Brett Myers on Friday and Wandy Rodriguez on Saturday allowed early runs to put their team in a hole.
The Astros will rely on right-hander Brian Moehler to get that job done. The veteran has acted as a swingman for Houston this season, making 12 relief appearances before sliding into the rotation on May 29.
Moehler got hammered in that first start - allowing eight runs and 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings against Cincinnati - but has settled down in his last two outings, surrendering five total runs in 11 1/3 frames.
A former American Leaguer with the Detroit Tigers, Moehler has faced the Yankees 11 times in his career, going 3-6 with a 5.09 ERA and a .307 batting average against. In his lone appearance against an AL team this season, Moehler allowed two runs and four hits without recording an out in relief against Tampa Bay.