| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.Y. Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
S: M. Rivera (6)
Phil Hughes was brilliant last night in Oakland, as he baffled the A's hitters over 7.1 innings. He threw 70 of 101 pitches for strikes and allowed just one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out a career-high ten batters. He also held the A's hitless over the first 7 innings.
The 23-year-old was lights-out from the start, striking out five of the first six batters he faced. The only baserunner Hughes allowed over the first seven was a first-inning walk to Daric Barton, he followed that by retiring the next 20 batters he faced.
Hughes was overpowering tonight, and his stuff was as good as we've seen it in his short career in the big leagues. He relied mostly on his fastball, which he was commanding with pinpoint accuracy and sat at 92-94 MPH all night. He also mixed in decent number of cutters and curveballs, but stayed away from the changeup completely, mainly because he didn't need it and said he didn't want to get beat on it with everything else working.
Eric Chavez broke up the no-hit bid on the first pitch he saw in the eighth, smacking a comebacker off Hughes' glove and forearm. Hughes lost track of the ball, which had deflected in front of him, and Chavez was safe at first with an infield single. Most of the Yankees, including Hughes, said they were thinking back to that start in Texas when he pulled his hamstring during a no-hit bid. Hughes even said he was hoping he didn't get hurt again.
On the other side Ben Sheets was also pitching well. He held the Yankees to two runs on four hits and three walks over six innings, but the way Hughes pitched the effort wasn't enough to stop the Yanks from winning their sixth in a row. Both runs off Sheets came in the fourth when Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano hit back-to-back triples. Jorge Posada would then drive in Cano with an RBI groundout.
The Yanks added very important insurance run in the top of the ninth on two-out RBI single by Brett Gardner. It was one of two hits on the night for Gardner, who is now batting .333.
After Hughes left the game with two on and one out in the eighth Joba Chamberlain came on for the first time after officially being named the 8th-inning guy. He got Adam Rosales to fly out for the first out, but then gave up a run scoring single to Jake Fox. It was the first inherited runner that Joba has allowed to score this season. He was then able to get Cliff Pennington to ground out to end the threat and preserve the Yankees lead.
It wasn't the usually easy Mariano Rivera save tonight, but he eventually got the job done. With one out Mo allowed a single and hit a batter in the inning, which gave the A's two cracks with the tying runs on, but he retired Eric Chaves on a force out and Kevin Kouzmanoff to fly out to end the game and pick up his sixth save of the year. Mo had to throw 26 pitches so he probably won't be available in the series finale tomorrow.
The Yankees are now 11-and-3, and have won the first five series of the season. They go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon at 3:35 p.m. with CC Sabathia on the mound. He will be facing Oakland left-hander Dallas Braden.
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Derek Jeter, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .339 |
| Nick Johnson, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .136 |
| Mark Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .115 |
| Alex Rodriguez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .320 |
| Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .340 |
| Jorge Posada, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .348 |
| Curtis Granderson, CF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .288 |
| Randy Winn, RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .000 |
| Brett Gardner, LF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Totals | 34 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | | |
| Batting | ||||||||
| 3B: Rodriguez, A (2, Sheets), Cano (1, Sheets). TB: Jeter; Rodriguez, A 4; Cano 4; Posada; Gardner 2. RBI: Cano (11), Posada (9), Gardner (5). 2-out RBI: Gardner. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A; Winn; Teixeira; Johnson, N. Team RISP: 2-for-10. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Cano (2, 2nd base off Sheets/Suzuki, K). CS: Jeter (1, 3rd base by Sheets/Suzuki, K | ||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Phil Hughes (W,2-0) | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2.19 |
| Joba Chamberlain (H,4) | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.16 |
| Mariano Rivera (S,6) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| HBP - Suzuki (by Mariano Rivera) | ||||||||
| Pitches-Strikes - Phil Hughes 101-70, Joba Chamberlain 10-7, Mariano Rivera 26-19 | ||||||||
| Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Phil Hughes 3-9, Joba Chamberlain 1-1, Mariano Rivera 1-2 | ||||||||
| Batters Faced - Phil Hughes 25, Joba Chamberlain 3, Mariano Rivera 5 | ||||||||
| PLAYER OF THE GAME: Phil Hughes HONORABLE MENTION: Robinson Cano |
