The LoHud Yankees Blog

Until yesterday, Jorge Posada was struggling. He’s now hit a grand slam in back-to-back games, caught for the first time in almost a month and helped the Yankees finish off a series sweep against the Astros. Ramiro Pena had a big single and made a great play at third, Phil Hughes picked up his ninth win and Chad Huffman got his first big league hit in a 9-5 win that was the Yankees eighth straight win at home.

Associated Press photo of Posada

YANKEES (39-23)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Brett Gardner LF
Chad Huffman RF
Ramiro Pena 3B

RHP Phil Hughes (8-1, 2.71)
Career vs. Astros

ASTROS (25-38)
Michael Bourn CF
Jeff Keppinger 2B
Hunter Pence RF
Carlos Lee DH
Cory Sullivan LF
Pedro Feliz 3B
Geoff Blum 1B
Tommy Manzella SS
Kevin Cash C

RHP Brian Moehler (0-2, 6.12)
Career vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 105 p.m. / YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Ted Barrett, 1B Tony Randazzo, 2B Brian Gorman, 3B Paul Nauert

WEATHER: Temperatures in the 70s and climbing. There’s a chance of rain later this evening, but things look good for the game itself.

THE GREAT UNKNOWN: Phil Hughes has never allowed a hit to any of the current Astros. They have a perfect .000 batting average, .000 on-base and .000 slugging percentage against him. That’s largely because the Astros experience against Hughes consists of two at-bats by Jason Michaels, who’s not even in the lineup today.

CANO STAT OF THE DAY: Robinson Cano has 99 career home runs and needs just one more for an even 100. In his past 17 games, Cano is batting .464 with six doubles, 18 RBI and three home runs.

ON THIS DATE: On June 13, 1948, Babe Ruth made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium. The franchise retired his No. 3 that day during ceremonies commemorating the 25th anniversary of the stadium. A little more than two months later, Ruth died.

UPDATE, 1:14 p.m.: Sitting next to Marc Carig who 30 seconds ago said, “That’s baseball” and I knew exactly what he meant. Second ball put in play goes right to Chad Huffman. No time for Welcome To The Big Leagues jitters. Time to make a play. And he did.

UPDATE, 1:17 p.m.: As I understand the rule, the hitter is not required to get out of the way on a stolen base attempt. He simply can’t intentionally get in the way. Posada’s throw to third hit off Carlos Lee’s bat — never seen that happen — and both runners were safe on the double steal. It made a difference when Lee wound up with a sac fly for a 1-0 Houston lead.

UPDATE, 1:32 p.m.: Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each throwing frustration in the same inning. Don’t see that too often. Teixeira thought he was hit by a pitch that appeared on replays to hit the dirt before clipping his foot. Jeter flung some dirt after he was thrown out trying to steal second base.

UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: Oh man what a play by Ramiro Pena. The guy was in on the grass to defend the bunt and made a diving grab on a line drive.

UPDATE, 2:02 p.m.: Base hit in Chad Huffman’s first big league at-bat. He worked the count full then reached on an infield single. Wonder if he’s ever run 90 feet that fast in his life.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: There’s home run No. 100 for Robinson Cano, who just tied the game at 1.

UPDATE, 2:35 p.m.: It wasn’t much, just a little bloop single to right, but the bases-loaded hit from Ramiro Pena was enough for a 3-1 Yankees lead in the fourth inning.

UPDATE, 2:47 p.m.: Big pitch by Hughes. Hunter Pence is the most dangerous hitter in this lineup and Hughes went right after him to strand runners at the corners.

UPDATE, 3:10 p.m.: Jorge Posada hits grand slams. It’s just what he does. He hit one yesterday. He’s hit one today. I can guarantee he will not hit one tomorrow. It’s now 7-1 Yankees.

UPDATE, 3:11 p.m.: Single for Brett Gardner, and the scoreboard showed a picture of Gardner dressed like Bret “The Hitman” Hart. It was basically the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

UPDATE, 3:12 p.m.: Chad Huffman is clearly trying to reach base every way possible this afternoon. Single, walk and now a strikeout with the catcher dropping the ball.

UPDATE, 3:32 p.m.: Tommy Manzella had a big hit off Andy Pettitte yesterday, and his 10-pitch at-bat here in the sixth inning seemed to really wear down Hughes, who ultimately allowed a two-run single then gave up a two-run home run to Kevin Cash. That’s it for Hughes, with Damaso Marte coming in to face Michael Bourn with the score now 7-5.

UPDATE, 3:58 p.m.: RBI singles from Swisher and Gardner push the lead to 9-5 with Chan Ho Park coming in to pitch the top of the eighth seventh.

UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: Nice catch by Brett Gardner to end the seventh (not the eighth).

Marcus Thames has been dealing with some mild hamstring soreness for a while now. It was playable until yesterday’s double into the left-field corner. “When I first took off, that’s when I felt it,” Thames said.

He felt like he had a chance to cut off the ball, but the hamstring forced him to play it off the wall. When he went popped up later in the game, he couldn’t run to first base.

“I felt like I was running in slow motion,” he said. “I know I’m not that slow.”

Thames has been placed on the disabled list and was told he’ll be shutdown for 10 to 12 days. To fill his spot, the team has called up Chad Huffman from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Huffman was claimed off waivers from the Padres earlier this season. He can play both outfield corners and first base, plus he has some power from the right side. He had a .279 average with five home runs in Triple-A.

Huffman is from the Houston area, and most of his family — mother, father, brother, cousins, uncle — flew to New York at the last minute to be here for his debut. The Scranton team flew from Charlotte to Allentown yesterday morning, then drove from Allentown to Scranton.

“Got about two hours of sleep,” Huffman said. “Got to the field and then (manager Dave) Miley called me into his office as soon as I got there and had some good news… I packed up and drove here as fast as I could.”

• I must admit, I showed up today fully expecting Derek Jeter to be the designated hitter. Joe Girardi had a different idea. “Swish has played every game and every inning in this stretch,” Girardi said. “I thought it would be a way to kind of give him a day and a half off.”

• Girardi said there’s no update on Dave Eiland’s status. “When I have word I’ll give it to you,” Girardi said. “There is no word right now.”

• Jorge Posada will be back behind the plate for the first time since mid-May. “As far as the injury, I don’t really have much (concern) there,” Girardi said. “It’s more the fatigue level.”

• The Yankees will have to monitor how many days Posada catches in a row. “Would be play him three days in a row? More than three days in a row? That was a question,” Girardi said. “That can adjust all the time. He’s going to DH some, but he’s going to catch too. He’s not going to DH everyday. He’s going to catch and we want him to catch because of the flexibility that he gives us, and the experience.”

• For this series finale, the Yankees are once again giving the ball to Phil Hughes, who’s going after his ninth win. “He’s been able to limit damage in innings,” Girardi said. “When he’s not had his best command or his best stuff, he’s still be able to go deep into games for us, just finding a way to get it done. To me, that’s a sign of maturity, and to be a big winner during the course of the season you have to be able to do that.”

UPDATE, 12:25 p.m.: Astros lineup.

Michael Bourn CF
Jeff Keppinger 2B
Hunter Pence RF
Carlos Lee DH
Cory Sullivan LF
Pedro Feliz 3B
Geoff Blum 1B
Tommy Manzella SS
Kevin Cash C

Associated Press photo of Thames.

Alfredo Aceves just threw on flat ground and felt no pain in his lower back.

“Nothing hurt,” he said. “Everything was normal.”

Aceves went through his normal pitching mechanics, throwing roughly the same distance as from the mound to the plate. He guessed that the session lasted six to eight minutes, and he was throwing at roughly 60 percent effort.

He doesn’t know for sure, but he believes he could throw again tomorrow.

I have yet to see Alex Rodriguez this morning, but Joe Girardi said it’s possible he will have his regular third baseman back in the lineup for the series opener against the Phillies.

“My hope is that we will have him on Tuesday,” Girardi said. “I can’t tell you if that’s as a DH or a full-fledged player.”

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Brett Gardner LF
Chad Huffman RF
Ramiro Pena 3B

RHP Phil Hughes

Marcus Thames is not listed on the bench. He seems headed for the disabled list.

For the first time since 1939, each of the Yankees five starters has six wins through the first 62 games of the season.

That’s true only because Javier Vazquez has won his past three starts. This season, he’s pitched 12 times.

The first six outings: 1-4 with an 8.10 ERA.

The past six outings: 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

“I see when he gives up a base hit or a run scores, he stops it,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s not carrying over like it was before. He just puts it behind him and he goes and makes another pitch.”

Today, Vazquez’s fastball sat in the upper-80s. That’s certainly not the slowest it’s been this season, but it’s also not particularly close to the velocity Vazquez hit just a few years ago.

“If I’m locating, I know I can win with that, throwing 88, 89, 90,” he said. “Obviously I would love to get back to what I was last year and years in the past, 90 to 94. If it’s there, it’s great. I feel good, so I think it’s going to be there soon, hopefully. If not, I know that I can win with that.”

Girardi said he believe Vazquez’s velocity might climb a little bit. The Yankees had him at 84-85 a few times earlier this season, so he’s clearly getting better, and Girardi pointed out that the team has seen CC Sabathia’s velocity rise lately. A increase wouldn’t be unheard of, but it might not be necessary either.

“He’s throwing strikes with all his pitches,” Derek Jeter said. “We know from facing Javy that when he’s doing that, he’s got so many pitches he can throw that he keeps you off balance.”

• This was Jeter’s reaction when he was told he had tied Rickey Henderson’s franchise record for career lead-off home runs: “Rickey was only here a year maybe, so it’s not as good as it sounds. You have to keep things in perspective.” Henderson actually spent four and a half seasons with the Yankees, a total of 596 games. Jeter has hit leadoff for the Yankees 656 times.

• Girardi on Jorge Posada’s reaction upon learning he would catch tomorrow: “There was a nice little smile there,” Girardi said. “He’s been champing at the bit here. It’s nice the way it works out. We’ve got a game tomorrow and then we’ve got a day off, so I felt like it was a good day to start.”

• Girardi on using Brett Gardner today: “After he took BP today, he was available to us. Our plan was to start him tomorrow, but he was available to us if we needed him today.”

• The latest on Alex Rodriguez: “He felt better today,” Girardi said. “We’ll evaluate him day to day and we’ll put him in when we feel that he’s ready. Obviously it’s good to hear that he felt better. That’s encouraging to me.”

• Robinson Cano took a hard foul ball off the shin, but he seems to be alright. “He’s got a heartbeat in his lower shin, but I think he’ll be OK,” Girardi said.

• Posada on his place among the great catchers in the game: “History is important to me, but I want to think about that later.”

• Speaking of Posada, he struck out in his first at-bat today and saw a ton of curveballs, including strike three. When he hit the grand slam, it was another curveball. “You don’t hit 250 home runs and drive in as many runs as Jorge has if you don’t know how to make adjustments,” Girardi said.

• The Yankees have hit five grand slams this season. They hit three all of last year.

Associated Press photos of Vazquez and Jeter.

Chad Huffman seems to be on his way to New York.

Donnie Collins is reporting that Huffman has been pulled from tonight’s lineup in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is apparently on his way to New York to take the roster spot of Marcus Thames.

This would be Huffman’s first big league call up. He was claimed off waivers from San Diego earlier this season. He was hitting .279 with five home runs in Triple-A. He has a reputation as a hard worker, and four of his past five games were multi-hit. In his minor league career he has been primarily a left fielder, with a few starts at first base and right field. He’s played center, but not since his first season.

This afternoon’s MRI on Marcus Thames’ right hamstring was negative. The Yankees are calling the injury a strain.

“I don’t know how he did it,” Joe Girardi said. “I didn’t ask him.”

Girardi noticed Thames stretching more than usual in the outfield, and when Thames didn’t run hard on a third-inning pop fly to center field, he knew there was a problem.

“I saw him stretching in the field, that was my first inclination,” Girardi said. “Then he hit the popup to center — and Marcus always plays hard — and didn’t run as hard as I usually see. A real red flag went up for me.”

A negative MRI suggests the injury is not serious, but it’s worth noting that Juan Miranda is not in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lineup.

Joe Girardi just made the announcement in his postgame press conference.

“Unless he comes in tomorrow and can’t walk, he’s going to catch tomorrow for us,” Girardi said.