Hughes not pitching like a No. 2 starter

     Phil Hughes definitely did not justify Joe Girardi's decision to scrap the tradition of starting Andy Pettitte in Game 2 of a series. Hughes has put the Yankees in position for another big comeback, which is not what they wanted. He has put pressure on his team instead of continuing the momentum the Yankees had built with that emphatic win Friday night.

        Girardi liked Hughes' history at the Ballpark at Arlington, but you wonder if he didn't take a CC Sabathia win in Game 1 for granted. Do you really think they would have started Hughes in Game 2 if there was a possibility that they'd be down 1-0?

           Hughes has had nothing, nothing but trouble. In the third, the Rangers made it 5-0 as Nelson Cruz whacked a shot off the rightfield wall, Ian Kinsler sacrificed, David Murphy drove home Cruz with a double to right and Murphy came home on a double by Bengie Molina.

            Of course there's plenty of time for the Yankees to come back from a 5-0 deficit. They did it last night when they were down that much in the seventh. They surely can bounce back against Colby Lewis, who just allowed a double to Robinson Cano. But it was not a reassuring start by Hughes.