Hughes Takes The Mounds As Yanks Go For The Sweep

Alfonso Soriano is locked in at the plate, and his four homeruns and 13 RBIs in his last two games certainly don't suggest otherwise. His performance over the past two games is one that will go down in Yankees history with some of the greatest 48-hours of all-time.

"I hope it stays for a couple more weeks," Soriano said. "I know it's not going to happen often, those two days. So that's something I want to remember. I have to remember having games like that."

His 13 RBIs have helped led the way to the Yankees being in position to sweep the Angels in this four-game series, before the Yanks hit the road and open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox that starts tomorrow.

Today's Lineup, 1:05 EST @ Yankee Stadium:

Gardner CF
Soriano LF
Cano 2B
Rodriguez 3B
Wells RF
Granderson DH
Nunez SS
Overbay 1B
Romine C
Hughes RHP

Pitching Preview:

With all the buzz surrounding Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes has been the complete opposite of those two on the mound, and when he pitches at Yankee Stadium, it never ends well for him or the Yankees.

Hughes has posted a 6.18 ERA and served up 16 home runs in 12 games at the place he calls home, while he is 0-4 with a 6.43 ERA over his last six starts overall. In just his last three starts, he has given up 14 runs on 22 hits in his last 11 innings.

For the moment, Hughes' spot in the rotation is safe, but that's only because there aren't any other starters to replace him, mostly due to some untimely injuries with Michael Pineda and David Phelps.

"Right now, I don't know if we have any options," Girardi said. "So we need him to pitch well. That's the bottom line."

The Yankees managed to tag Jered Weaver with eight runs yesterday, and now they get a chance at one of the Angels other top pitchers, CJ Wilson.

Wilson is 5-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings over his last eight starts, and he held the Cleveland Indians to two runs on seven hits and four walks 5 1/3 innings last Saturday.

Wilson has faced the Yankees once this season back on June 14th, when he permitted just two runs over seven innings, owns a 2.67 ERA in four career starts at Yankee Stadium, a place he likes to pitch.

"I like pitching day games at Yankee Stadium," Wilson said. "It levels the playing field for me, because I feel like there's no buildup. You just go straight to the game. I think pitching in Yankee Stadium is kind of intimidating in a lot of ways, because you know there are going to be 45,000 or 50,000 fans there.

"You know that the Yankees are always going to give you a good ballgame. They're always going to have tough at-bats, they're always going to have a lot of discipline. This is the hallmark of their club. So a day game, there might be guys who are like, 'Oh, I'm a little sore, I'm not going to play today.' Things like that. Hopefully I get a lineup I can get some whiffs with."

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