Hughes Rules As Yanks Crush White Sox 12-3

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chi. White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	6	2
N.Y. Yankees «	0	1	0	1	3	2	5	0	x	12	16	1

WP: P. Hughes (3-0) LP: M. Buehrle (2-4)

Anybody else as pleasantly surprised at how Phil Hughes has started his 2010 campaign? After today's gem, the 23-year-old is 3-0, with a 1.44 ERA. He dominated the White Sox over seven scoreless innings, holding them to just four hits and a walk while striking out six, as the Yankees rolled to a 12-3 win over the White Sox.

Hughes attacked the White Sox lineup with mostly four-seam, two-seam, and cut fastball, which accounted for 84 of his 98 pitches on the day. His velocity was also very good. He topped out at 95.2 mph with the four-seamer, and 94.4 with his two-seamer. He also had great command of all of his pitches, and the movement on his two-seamer looked especially good. All spring people were talking about his new changeup, but so far this year we've seen Hughes stay away from the change and instead he's incorporating the two-seamer into his arsenal, especially yesterday, which appears to be paying off.

How good was Hughes today? Check out this quote from White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen:

"He's probably the best guy that we have faced this year," he said. "He had unbelievable stuff."

On to the offense.... The Yankees bats pounded White Sox pitching all day, racking up 12 runs and 16 hits, both season highs. They started off slowly, scoring just two runs over the first four innings, but exploded in the middle innings, scoring three in the fifth, two in the sixth, and blowing things open with five in the seventh. I'm not going to go over all the runs, but here are the highlights.

• Six Yankees had multi-hit games.
  
• Mark Teixeira picked up four hits, drove in two, and scored two. Thank goodness it's May.
• Nick Swisher went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored.
  
• Robinson Cano continues to be one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. Today, he went 2-for-4 with his team-leading 9th home run of the season and drove in three.
• Brett Gardner picked up two hits including his first homer of the year, and drove in two.
• Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter also picked up two hits apiece.
• Nick Johnson chipped in with a two-run double with the bases loaded in the Yankees five-run seventh. The two RBI were his first since April 17th.
  

Mark Melancon, who was added to the roster prior to the game in place of the injured Curtis Granderson, came into the game in the 8th replacing Hughes and pitched the final two innings. He retired the White Sox 1-2-3 in the eighth, but ran into some trouble in the ninth. Gordon Beckham reached on an error, Andruw Jones singled, and then Paul Konerko smacked his league-leading 12th home run of the season. Melancon settled down after the homer and retired the final three batters in order to finish off the game. Melancon threw a mix of fastballs, curves and changeups, and threw 17 of his 27 pitches for strikes.

Today's win makes it 7 out of 8 series wins for the Yankees to start the year, and now they host the Orioles hoping to make it 8 of 9. CC Sabathia goes against Jeremy Guthrie in the opener tomorrow night. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. and the game is on YES.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Derek Jeter, SS	4	1	2	1	1	0	0	.333
Francisco Cervelli, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.346
Nick Johnson, 1B	5	1	1	2	0	1	2	.141
Mark Teixeira, DH	5	2	4	2	0	1	1	.189
Nick Swisher, RF	4	2	3	2	1	0	1	.282
Robinson Cano, 2B	4	2	2	3	1	1	2	.387
Jorge Posada, C	5	1	2	0	0	1	6	.299
Marcus Thames, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.458
Brett Gardner, CF	4	2	2	2	1	1	3	.342
Ramiro Pena, 3B-SS	5	1	0	0	0	1	4	.071
Totals	41	12	16	12	4	7
Batting
2B: Cano (6, Buehrle), Posada (5, Pena, To), Johnson, N (3, Williams, R), Teixeira (5, Williams, R). HR: Gardner (1, 4th inning off Buehrle, 0 on, 1 out), Cano (9, 5th inning off Buehrle, 2 on, 1 out), Swisher (4, 6th inning off Pena, To, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter 2; Johnson, N 2; Teixeira 5; Swisher 6; Cano 6; Posada 3; Gardner 5. RBI: Gardner 2 (9), Cano 3 (21), Swisher 2 (15), Jeter (20), Johnson, N 2 (7), Teixeira 2 (12). 2-out RBI: Gardner; Swisher 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada 3; Pena, R. GIDP: Johnson, N. Team RISP: 4-for-13. Team LOB: 10.

Fielding

E - Ramiro Pena (1, Misplayed grounder)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Phil Hughes (W,3-0)	7	4	0	0	1	6	0	1.44
Mark Melancon	2	2	3	2	0	1	1	9.00

WP - Phil Hughes (1)

Pitches-Strikes - Phil Hughes 98-69, Mark Melancon 27-17

Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Phil Hughes 6-8, Mark Melancon 3-3

Batters Faced - Phil Hughes 25, Mark Melancon 9

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Phil Hughes HONORABLE MENTION: Mark Teixeira