Phil and Carl whats-his-name pitches; Bruney back

Just a quick note about two of our injured pitchers, Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano, who both pitched A LOT in the minors at last. Yes, I’m happy that our Yanks romped over the Halos at last. Still, these are two pitchers who are prepared to finally pitch in the bigs again.

Phil Hughes pitched 3.2 scoreless innings for Class A Charleston tonight, fanning five batters, giving up just one hit, and walking one. He also hurled 54 pitches, by the way. Looks like he’ll be ready for the majors real soon. Oh yeah, he’s sporting a Cliff Lee-like ERA (Early in the season, when Lee had an AWESOME ERA) during his innings. Meanwhile, things are a bit more back to earth for Pavano. The bust went three innings, striking out two and giving up one run on five hits, which is perfectly normal for HIM. Don’t be too excited about Pavano pitching well in the bigs. He ain’t his 18-win self no more.

On a brighter note, Brian Bruney, who went on the DL early in the season, was activated prior to the game against the Halos. Chris Britton was optioned back to AAA to make room for Bruney. The burly pitcher returned to his great ol’ reliever self, too. He worked the ninth, walking one batter and allowing one hit. However, he still got out of the runners on the corners jam by ending the game on a Juan Rivera flyout, preserving the 8-2 win. Bruney was one of our most effective relief pitchers, and will be again.

And, finally, Phil is hitting 95 mph with his fastball. Here is what Phil said in a report:

“Tonight I was able settle in and spot my fastball, and throw my breaking balls and changeups,” Hughes said. “I was able to go 50-plus pitches tonight, and then go up to 65 or 70 pitches next outing.”