Is there panic in the Bronx?
After dropping the first two games of their weekend series with the Red Sox, the New York Yankees have shuffled their rotation for the second time in three days, reinstalling right-hander Phil Hughes for Sunday night's start.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced before Friday's opener that Hughes would be pushed back to Wednesday and Dustin Moseley would fill in Sunday night. It was a move designed to cut back on the workload for the young Hughes, who was an All-Star this year but has struggled in the second half of the season.
According to reports, the New York staff met after Boston's 7-3 win Saturday and decided to reverse their decision and keep Hughes in his regular turn.
The 24-year-old Hughes is in his first full year as a starter. He has thrown 169 1/3 innings, up from 86 in 2009, when he made just seven starts before being moved to the bullpen.
Hughes is 17-8 with a 4.31 ERA, but just 6-6 with a 5.27 mark since the break.
New York has lost four in a row, tying a season high. Its magic number to clinch a playoff berth has been stuck on three since the middle of last week.
