From PA:
Phil Hughes pitched three innings in the Rising Stars game in Arizona, allowing one earned run.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that he allowed home runs by Chad Huffman and Josh Reddick and a double by Casper Wells. The line for Hughes: 3 3 4 1 2 3. All of the trouble came in the second inning.
Austin Jackson started in center field for the National Team and has walked and struck out. He also has a stolen base.
Hughes has had 2 bad outings in a row (yes, I consider this a bad outing) and for him, it’s all about his locating his fastball. If he can’t command his heat, then he won’t pitch well. That’s how he is and, as Ben points out, that was the case in the Rising Stars game. Basically, Hughes needs to command the fastball and solidify his pitching motion in order to be successful for the Yankees—plain and simple. Sometimes, following Hughes is totally frustrating, I won’t lie (that’s the nature of the prospect game).
On the other side of the game, Tommy Hanson, the top pitching prospect for Atlanta, threw 3 innings, walked 2 and struck out 7. Too bad Hughes couldn’t match that.
