Phil Hughes looks to go 6-0 tonight

     There's little doubt that Phil Hughes has been one of the best pitchers in the American League this season. In six starts, he has a 5-0 record. That ties him in wins with four other starting pitchers. Hughes' ERA of 1.38 is also the best in the AL among pitchers having a minimum of 1.0 innings pitched per team game.

Hughes is coming off an impressive outing in Detroit last Wendesday, having pitched seven scoreless innings for his fifth win.

OK, that's the good news. The bad news is that the Red Sox have hit well agaisnt Hughes, who is 1-2 with a 5.85 ERA in his career against the team.

Here's how Red Sox hitters have done against Hughes:

Marco Scutaro (13 career plate appearances against Hughes): .250 average/.308 OBP/.250 slugging, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Dustin Pedroia (12): .000/.083/.000, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Kevin Youkilis (11): .300/.273/.600, 1 home run, 2 strikeouts

J.D. Drew (10): .667/.800/1.167, 1 double, 1 triple, 4 walks

Adrian Beltre (7): .000/.000/.000, 4 strikeouts

David Ortiz (7): .750/.714/1.250, 2 doubles, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Mike Lowell (5): .400/.400/1.000, 1 home run

Victor Martinez (5): .600/.600/.800, 1 double, 1 strikeout

Jason Varitek (5): .000/.200/.000, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Jeremy Hermida (3): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

Darnell McDonald (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Bill Hall struck out in his only at bat against Hughes.

 Jonathan Van Every has never faced Hughes.

Barbara Barker, aka meanbarb on twitter