HUGHES ICES FIRST TEST
MOOSIC, Pa. – Yankees uber-prospect Phil Hughes dazzled last night in his first Triple-A outing, allowing two runs on two hits in five innings pitched and earning his first win, a 6-3 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees victory over the Norfolk Tides.
Hughes threw 50 of his 74 pitches for strikes, fanning six and walking two. He also hit a batter.
“It went well; not my best, not my worst,” Hughes said. “It’s so tough on a night like tonight to get settled in; you come out and, no pun intended, you feel cold.”
On a frigid night (game-time temperature was 34 degrees, and it dropped steadily), Hughes hit 92 mph on the radar gun with his fastball, and threw a changeup that was effective, at times.
Hughes’ primary objective in Triple-A is to develop that changeup, which, at its best, makes his four-seam fastball incredibly difficult to hit.
One good outing does not mean the 20-year-old sensation will be in The Bronx anytime soon.
“He needs to be here,” Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “The decision-makers in this organization believe that, I believe that, and he’s on the same page. It’s a good situation for everybody involved.”
Hughes is scheduled to make his second start next Wednesday here against the Richmond Braves.
