Nine-run sixth backs sharp Hughes as Yanks rout Tigers

As nice as it was for the Yankees to witness another offensive outburst from their high-powered lineup, they firmly believe their championship aspirations ride on the success of their starting pitchers.

That's why the six strong innings tossed by Phil Hughes in their 11-5 victory over the Tigers Thursday afternoon resonated more in Yankeeland than, say, their nine-run sixth inning.

The Yankees know this team is going to score enough runs on most days. But how much can they count on Hughes in pressure situations? That remains a question without a definitive answer, which made his impressive outing - after a bit of a rough start - all the more reassuring to the club.

The Yankees took three of four from the Tigers, marking their first series victory this month, and moved 29 games over .500, tying their season high. When the Athletics rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Rays Thursday night, the Yankees took a one-game lead over Tampa Bay.

"Lately we haven't been winning series, we've been tying series," Joe Girardi said. "As we know, in our division, we need to win series."

Robinson Cano hit an RBI double and a two-run home run in a nine-run sixth that produced an 11-2 lead, an inning that also included a two-run double by Austin Kearns and a two-run triple by Derek Jeter. But Hughes' performance leading up to that moment earned praise in the clubhouse, given what the Yankees believe it means for these final six weeks.

Hughes (15-5) entered the game with a 5.20 ERA in his previous 12 starts, and his afternoon began with a negative. One strike away from a scoreless first inning, he hung a full-count curveball to Miguel Cabrera, who drove it into the Yankees' bullpen for a 2-0 lead.

But Hughes then morphed into the lights-out pitcher who stormed through the first two months of the season. He didn't allow another run, giving up only two more singles, and retired 15 of the last 16 hitters he faced, including the final 11. He walked none and struck out six.

After the nine-run inning, Girardi removed Hughes, mindful of limiting his innings. Hughes understood, saying he figured he was done when Cano's two-run homer made it 11-2.

"You want to go as deep in every game you pitch," Hughes said, "but if they score runs like that, it definitely helps my game and saves an inning, too."

Hughes, who has pitched 1402/3 innings, has an innings limit that is believed to be about 175. Girardi said before the game that the Yankees are committed to not eclipsing that number regardless of the pennant race. He also said they won't use off-days to skip his turn, meaning that someone likely will pitch in his spot once or twice.

With Sergio Mitre throwing 57 pitches in relief of Hughes, he theoretically could be stretched out enough to pitch in place of Hughes in his next start. But if that's the case, no one's saying.

When asked if Hughes will make his next start Tuesday, pitching coach Dave Eiland said, "I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is we have a plan in place."

Girardi anticipated pregame warnings from the umpires in response to the previous night's actions. Jeremy Bonderman hit Brett Gardner with his first pitch of Wednesday's game (in apparent retaliation for Gardner's takeout slide that injured Carlos Guillen Monday night), Chad Gaudin hit Cabrera (who had homered twice) in the top of the eighth, and the Tigers' Enrique Gonzalez threw a pitch behind Jeter in the bottom of the inning.

But there were no warnings, and there also was no carryover from the hit batsmen. The only real carryover was the offensive breakout by the Yankees, who have scored 26 runs in their last three games after managing one run in the previous two.

The Yankees hope Hughes finds a way to carry this over, too. "Besides that home run," he said, "I felt like today was a really good outing."