New York Yankees Notes: First Place, The Phil Hughes Rules, Injuries, and More

The Yankees are back in first place after beating the Astros 9-5 yesterday behind a strong performance by Phil Hughes and another Jorge Posada grand slam.

Here are some notes:

• The Yankees record is now 40-23, tied for the best in baseball.
• Posada is the first Yankee to hit Grannies in back-to-back games since Bill Dickey in 1937.
• Hughes improved to 9-1, but his ERA is now a season high 3.11 after a rough 4-run sixth inning.
• The Hughes Rules are on their way, but the Yankees aren’t revealing the plan yet.
• Former 2nd-round draft pick Chad Huffman made his major league debut going 1-for-4 with a walk.
• The Yankees hope Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup by Tuesday when they take on the Phillies.
• Alfredo Aceves threw on flat ground yesterday at about 60 percent effort. He said everything went well.
• Marcus Thames is on the 15-day DL and is expected to miss about two weeks.

In the box score, yesterday’s game looked like one of Hughes’ worst.

But in reality, it was much better than that. He was absolutely dominating for most of the start after he allowed one run in the top of the first, but he had trouble getting the final batter out in the sixth and the Astros scored four runs.

Posada looks like he’s back in shape, and it’s great news that Aceves is throwing again. He might have another throwing session today, but chances are the Yankees are going to go slow with his return after rumors of back surgery.

Related Stories

R

• March 5, 2010 -- If Your Favorite Yankee Was a Beer He Would Be… (5)
• June 13, 2010 -- Yankees Notes: Thames, Huffman, Posada, and Vazquez (0)
• May 29, 2010 -- Yankees Notes: Hughes, Cano, Sanit, Posada, Aceves, Duncan, Single-A All-Stars (0)
• March 26, 2010 -- Hit and Run: Joba, The Philosophy, Thames, and Feds (0)