New York Yankees: Is It Time to Worry About Phil Hughes?

Phil Hughes threw a stinker against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday and concerns are beginning to mount about his effectiveness, as the home stretch of the MLB season is right around the corner.

Hughes allowed seven runs on nine hits in four innings of work in Toronto for his second consecutive loss in what has been a string of three bad starts to begin the month of August.

The 26-year-old won his first game of the month against the Baltimore Orioles, but it certainly didn't qualify as an impressive start by any means. Hughes scattered nine hits over six innings and could have easily been knocked out of the game in multiple instances.

However, he still got the win on the back of a 12-run offensive explosion by his teammates.

To follow that start, the Detroit Tigers blitzed Hughes, who only lasted 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. There was no scattering hits there for the Bombers' starter.

It looks like Hughes is getting progressively worse. He had a solid month of July—pitching to the tune of a 3.09 ERA in five starts—but August has been a different story. Hughes' three starts have been bad, but one after the other, they have gotten increasingly more unacceptable.

The Yankees are going to need Hughes in the latter parts of this season. With Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia both on the shelf, New York needs its starters to step up and deliver in the absence of the Yanks' two best starters.

Hughes is not answering the bell in the least bit, and Ivan Nova can be thrown into that conversation as well. Nova did have a solid start in his last outing, but just one look at his ERA (4.70) tells you 2012 has not been kind to the 25-year-old.

With all the inconsistencies Hughes has displayed during the 2012 campaign, there's no telling what to expect from him in the very near future.

But one thing remains very clear for the hopes of the Yankees' season—they desperately need Sabathia and Pettitte to return. And fast.