Carlos Villanueva Can’t Hold Back Yankees, Blue Jays Settle For Series Draw

Well – that certainly wasn’t the christmas-tree version of Phil Hughes we saw earlier in the season. For the 2nd straight game in a row, the Bautista-less Blue Jays were held in check by Yankees pitching, while our starter, Carlos Villanueva, struggled against the Evil Empire in the 4th inning, opening the way for a 2-7 Blue Jays loss. Yankees starter Phil Hughes was making his 2nd start since coming back from a long rehab stint in search for his fastball velocity. While he wasn’t exactly blowing guys away, he was able to settle into the low 90s with his fastball, and the extra few ticks allowed him to use the pitch to get the Blue Jays bats off balance. Just ask Eric Thames, who struck out 3 times against the righty, and JP Arencibia, who struck out twice. The two accounted for all of Hughes’ strikeouts on the day – the Blue Jays managed 2 runs on 4 hits off the 25-year old, while drawing a pair of walks. Snider doubled home a run in the 2nd, and Aaron...