Indians “Masterful” Against the Yankees

Yankees fell to the Indians 5-3 thanks to 8 shutout  innings by the former top Red Sox prospect, Justin Masterson. This was also the first game back from the DL for Yankee starter Phil Hughes, who went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs in the loss.

Is Phil Hughes ready to put in a strong second half?

Phil Hughes got off to a shaky start on Wednesday night as he immediately got into trouble in the first inning. He gave up two runs in that first inning, though one of those two runs was because of a pick-off attempt gone wrong with 2 outs. In every inning but the 4th inning, Hughes had allowed the lead-off man to reach base.

In the outing, he went five innings, giving up the two runs on six hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and hit two batters. Joe Girardi after the game explained that Hughes' fastball was elevated, which made it flat and hit-able for the Cleveland batters in the game. The fastball topped 92 tonight. It appeared he was a bit rusty, especially in the first inning. Even though he allowed baserunners scattered throughout the rest of the game, he did a good job to work out of trouble.

Meanwhile the Yankee hitters could do nothing against Justin Masterson. He pitched a tremendous game against the Yanks for the win. I had the pleasure of watching Masterson last week when he faced the San Francisco Giants in San Fran. He went 7 innings that day not allowing an earned run, though a run was under his line thanks to an error and a balk to allow the runner to score, which his how the Giants ended up winning 1-0.

Masterson was a top prized prospect for the Red Sox, in which he was traded in a deal for Victor Martinez. Masterson, like other top relievers went right from AA minors straight to the majors, where he served as a reliever for the Red Sox, until the Indians acquired him and turned him back into a starter. Masterson is now 7-6 on the season with a 2.66 ERA.