Phil Hughes continues his resurgence

It all seems to be coming together for Phil Hughes now.

The righthander picked up his fifth win in his last six decisions Saturday night as the Yankees defeated the Mets, 4-2, at Yankee Stadium. Hughes, who threw a complete game to beat Justin Verlander in Detroit last Sunday, allowed six hits, struck out six and walked two in 61/3 innings.

"I think he's getting back to the form we saw in 2010 when he won 17 games as a starter," manager Joe Girardi said.

It hasn't been an easy journey. Hughes suffered from arm fatigue and a drop in velocity in 2011 and was limited to 14 starts, a 5-5 record and a 5.79 ERA. Once tabbed as a bright young star in the Yankees' rotation, Hughes found himself answering questions about whether he should be starting or relieving. At the beginning of this season, there were times he looked completely lost.

"Last year was frustrating for sure," said Hughes (6-5, 4.76 ERA), who was 1-4 with a 7.48 ERA in his first five starts this year and is 5-1 with a 3.49 ERA in his last seven. "I came in feeling I pitched well in spring. Unfortunately, it didn't show right away. It was kind of a tough month in April. It's something I just had to work through.

"You have to answer questions about whether you should stay here. They're not really the kind of questions you want to hear while you're struggling. You feel like there's more pressure every time out to go out to have a good one. It's nice to get over that hump and have some quality starts."

Hughes, 26, has said he has been helped this year by the return of Andy Pettitte. The two have talked about the pressures of being a young pitcher in New York and some of the best ways to deal with the stresses that come with it.

"Andy has been in Phil's shoes," Girardi said.

Girardi believes that a lot of Hughes' struggles at the beginning of this season can be attributed to the fact that he missed so much time last season and that it put him a bit behind.

"He missed a lot of time,'' Girardi said, "and that was valuable time in a situation where you're trying to learn as a young pitcher."

The one odd blemish that remains on Hughes' games is that he continues to give up home runs. He allowed homers by Omar Quintanilla and David Wright, with the latter giving the Mets a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth.

Hughes has served up 15 home runs in 68 innings this season, at least one in each of his 12 starts. That streak, according to the Yankees, is tied for second-longest to begin a season in major-league history behind Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, who gave up a homer in his first 14 starts of 1987 with Minnesota.

Hughes' overall game, however, seems to be heading in the right direction. Finally.

Said Hughes: "It's been a difficult process to get though. Thankfully, I'm pitching well now and hopefully I can keep doing that."