Now Yankees' Hughes knows he belongs

Phil Hughes used to wonder if he'd ever make it. Perplexed by his constant struggles, he often doubted he was good enough to be a major-league starter, let alone a Yankee.

He can vividly recall the moment his confidence was shaken to its core: April 29, 2008. He was pelted with boos at Yankee Stadium after handing over the ball and a 6-2 deficit against Detroit to manager Joe Girardi after allowing eight hits - including homers by Curtis Granderson and Gary Sheffield - and three walks in 32/3 innings in an eventual 6-4 loss.

Hughes, 21, was 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA to start the season - and wondering how things could have turned so ugly so quickly. "That was probably the lowest of lows," Hughes said yesterday.

Two days after that outing against the Tigers, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a stress fracture in a rib, an injury that cost him most of the season.

"There were times where I was lost," said Hughes, who added that he initially didn't want to admit the injury for fear people would think he was making excuses. "It was one of those things where I had to go back to the basics and find out what worked to get me here.

"You go through times where you don't have confidence at all, and that's tough, because your mental state of mind is almost as important as what you do physically. There were times I didn't know if I belonged."

He belongs.

After a highly successful run as Mariano Rivera's setup man last season, Hughes has established himself as one of the best starters in baseball in 2010, posting a 5-0 record and a 1.38 ERA - the second-lowest in the majors. He'll open a two-game series against Boston Monday night at the Stadium, facing Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-1, 6.35 ERA).

No longer is Hughes unsure of himself. And no longer is he just a "two-pitch guy," Girardi said; he's added a cutter and a changeup to his repertoire.

Hughes compiled a 5-1 record and 1.40 ERA as a reliever last season, allowing 31 hits and striking out 65 in 511/3 innings and getting the opportunity to learn from Rivera.

Hughes returned to spring training with renewed conviction, determined to earn the fifth spot in the rotation over Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre, Alfredo Aceves and former Yankee Chad Gaudin. And it didn't take long for the Yankees to see the extent of his ability.

"When we put him in the bullpen last year, we knew it was just a short-term thing. We always knew his future was as a starter," pitching coach Dave Eiland said. "About halfway through spring training, with the stuff he had, the way he could just repeat it and repeat it, we knew he was best suited for that spot. And he's making our decision look really good right now."

Hughes, who pitched seven shutout innings in the Yankees' 8-0 victory over Detroit in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader, has allowed six runs and 22 hits in 39 innings this season, has struck out 39 and hasn't surrendered a home run in his past 30 innings. Opponents are hitting .165 against him.

General manager Brian Cashman said he feels a sense of pride when he sees Hughes, one of his homegrown products, step on the field. "You can see by his mound presence he knows he can get anybody out," Cashman said. "Prior to that, he was going through the motions, he was feeling his way. Now he knows, mentally, he can perform and succeed at a high level."

Hughes, a first-round Yankees pick in 2004, credits his time as a reliever for renewing his confidence. "You can't really pitch around guys in the bullpen," said the righthander, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Oakland on April 21. "And I tried to take that as much as I could to starting - just having that aggressiveness and confidence inside the strike zone and not being afraid to miss."

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hughes is the first Yankee with at least five wins and a sub-1.50 ERA through his first six starts since 1958, when Bob Turley went 6-0 with a 0.83 ERA. Turley won the Cy Young Award that year.

"I knew he would get to this point," Eiland said. "Did I think he'd get there this quick? I wasn't real sure . . . I said a couple years ago, 'Nothing Phil Hughes does on the baseball field ever surprises me.' With that said, I'm very pleased. But we're just now getting started."